North Cook News

The Niles-Maine District Library Board has tentatively approved a new budget that slashes the staff’s budget by as much as $1.5 million.

In a 4-3 vote, members earlier this month approved a $5.9 million spending plan that brings cuts in staffing and building hours going forward.

With most of the reductions having been put forth by newly elected board member and Treasurer Joe Makula, a public hearing on the matter is now set for July 20 with a final vote slated for the next day.

No matter what happens with the budget, change to the way the board has been doing business seems inevitable. Library employees recently announced plans to unionize and a growing number of citizens are already speaking out about the proposed cuts.

“The changes are ultimately going to really hurt people,” library director Susan Dove Lempke told the Chicago Tribune around the same time she announced her resignation.

While supporters of the plan sought to justify the cuts by insisting attendance at the library has been markedly down since COVID-19 hit, Lempke told the board that attendance has been increasing in recent weeks.

“People are coming to the library,” she said.

Journal & Topics reports the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 is set to represent a bargaining unit of 88 Niles-Maine District Library employees.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Chicago) has struck a similar tone.

“Our library is the heart of our community,” she said. “We call on you to stop unnecessary cuts to vital services, respect library workers, and fund our library.”

The formation of the union is widely viewed as a direct response to the proposed cuts.

“From a legal perspective, it would be illegal for the board to make any unilateral changes to wages, benefits, or working conditions as a result of the employees petitioning for union representation,” AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall told the Journal.

The tentative budget was further debated at a June 16 library board meeting with the final budget slated for adoption after a 30-day public review period.