The Friends of La Grange Parks, a group of residents who filed formal objections to the Park District of La Grange's latest petition seeking court permission to sell a portion of Gordon Park, yesterday issued a written response to harsh comments recently and publicly directed at the group by Park Board President Tim Kelpsas and Vice President Bob Ashby.
Here is the complete text of the residents' response:
At the August 12, 2010 meeting of the Park District of La Grange, two members of the Board made some unprofessional and disparaging remarks about the La Grange Friends of the Park (Friends). They also stated that they did not know what the Friends wanted.
The Friends have always been very clear as to what they wanted: STOP the sale of the park land so that the park land/open space can be preserved for future generations. It is as simple as that. The Friends are not trying to delay the sale of the precious park land, the Friends are trying to prevent it. The frustration exhibited by the Board is a result of the Park District’s ignorance of the process the statute under which they are proceeding provides.
What the Park District needs to understand is that Illinois law does not provide Park Districts with any inherent authority to sell park land. The statute under which the Park District of La Grange is proceeding in this case requires the Park District to ASK PERMISSION from the court for the authority to sell the land. This statute, 70 ILCS 1235, specifically provides that the court hear the objections to the sale.
What the Park District also needs to understand is that although this law was written in 1887, this is a case of "First Impression." In a case of first impression, the particular law has never been interpreted. Usually, a court may look to other cases to see how to interpret the law at issue, but in a case of first impression, the court cannot rely on any precedent. Therefore, the Park District's expectations as to how this case should proceed and how long it should take are only based on speculation, not fact.
We should realize the inherent wisdom of our founding fathers in establishing the court system as the arbiter. Each of us may find ourselves in disagreement with a government entity at some time and should be able to enjoy the protections afforded to us as we try to resolve our dispute. Citizens should not have to be subject to name calling and intimidation by the public officials and/or their representatives for standing on principle.
The statement that the trial should be over by now is simply not true. There are many reasons that the trial has not yet occurred—one reason is that the Park District has asked for many extensions. The latest postponement was due to the Judge’s conflicts. To place the blame on the Friends is wrong.
It is not clear exactly how much money the Park District has spent trying to sell the park land, but the amount is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. What is clear is that the Park District Board chose to squander taxpayers’ money on legal fees instead of negotiating and compromising. Many months ago, the Friends offered to drop their objection to the sale of one of the parcels in the interest of settling this dispute. The Park District refused this offer. If the Park District had accepted that offer, this dispute could have been settled.
The text above was provided by Joan Johnson, one of three attorneys representing the group.
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