Shields Township Meeting June 20, 2019 in North Chicago

Shields Township Meeting June 20, 2019 in North Chicago Council Chambers

At the May meeting North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham invited the Shields Township Board of Trustees to hold its June meeting in the City’s Council Chambers. Shields Township Supervisor Terry Darraugh accepted the invitation. When introducing the Shields Township Board to the North Chicago residents, the Mayor stated that he wanted them to know about the work done by the Township.

This policy gesture, if instituted by the three municipalities within Shields Township bounds, could become a dynamic educational tool. The Township spans all of Lake Bluff and three unincorporated areas abutting the municipality; the south portion of North Chicago including Naval Training Station Great Lakes and the Veterans Administration Complex; and the northeast portion of Lake Forest. Every third monthly meeting could be held on a rotating basis in one of the three municipalities’ council chambers. This would greatly aid to familiarize each community’s residents with the duties of the township and its benefit services. Such an arrangement would free up the board room at the Shields Township offices, and it will take more than one meeting in each of the communities to begin to fully educate residents on Shields Township’s services.

In addition, it has been documented that less than 1% of tax dollars received are granted to the General Assistance (GA) recipients the township’s only mandated benefit program. Shields Township pays a caseworker well over $70,000 a year to determine if an individual is entitled to a GA grant. If the casework was outsourced to Waukegan Township or Catholic Charities quality services would continue, and the Shields Township taxpayers would realize a yearly savings of several thousand dollars in salary and benefits. Plus, the office space taken up by the caseworker and a vacated board room could be sublet to another not-for-profit program.

An item on the June 20th agenda was “For discussion and approval – Phoenix Rising Foundation lease”. After the meeting discussions with North Chicago residents pointed to the fact there was little understanding that the Phoenix Rising Foundation had not been part of Shields Township for well over two years. Phoenix Rising Foundation was founded in 2004, as the fund-raising arm of the Township, though since 2017 it has been independent of that government agency. The Shields Township Board had voted to have the Foundation pay rent for its use of taxpayer funded facilities. In recent years the Foundation has made little effort to raise money. The Foundation’s trustees hoped to change the present lease and have rent-free use of Township space. Granting rent-free use of taxpayer funded facilities to a private charity is a legal liability. Therefore, at the July 18th meeting of the Township Board it is hoped that the trustees will vote to have Phoenix Rising Foundation continue to honor its lease agreement.

Janice Schnobrich

June 30, 2019