Meet The Incumbent Candidates For Lemont Library Board

LEMONT, IL — The upcoming election is less than two weeks away, and early voting has already started. In Lemont, one of the most contentious races is the race for four open positions on the Lemont Public Library Board. There are a total of eight candidates running, four incumbents and four write-ins. The four incumbent candidates have banded together to create a Facebook page, website and to distribute signs. The incumbent candidates are Catherine Sanders, Vytenis Kirvelaitis, Tom Culcasi and Tom Burton.

Catherine Sanders

Sanders grew up in Tinley Park and attended St. Xavier University where she earned a degree in English and Education. She then received her Juris Doctor in 1984 and worked as an Assistant State's Attorney for Cook County for 27 years. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the criminal justice administration program at Triton College.

Sanders, who moved to Lemont in 1991, has served as a library trustee since 2013. She said the accomplishments she is most proud of in her term include the "completion of the library renovation in 2016, and the implementation and annual review of the library's strategic plan to ensure it aligns with the community's needs and the library's financial resources."

Sanders currently chairs the planning and goals committee at the library and is a member of the buildings and grounds and technology committees.

"I believe our library should reflect our community’s interests and needs," she said. "While the Lemont Library currently offers a wide array of programs, I want to continue to be open to new ideas from our staff and patrons about topics, seminars, book clubs and activities they want brought to the library."

Tom Culcasi

Culcasi has lived in Lemont for 42 years with his wife, Judy, and raised his three children in the community. He has a degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame. Culcasi worked in medical sales for decades, and is now retired.

Culcasi is a member of St. Alphonsus Church and has served as president of the school board there and as president of parish council at the church. Culcasi was elected to the library board in 2015, and is part of the buildings and grounds, and planning and goals committees.

"People moving into Lemont are looking for a good school system and a strong library," he said. "I am proud to say we have both. We were able to remodel our library on time and on budget as we promised the voters."

During his term in office, he said the children's department has been renovated and made more usable and interactive. Culcasi also worked with CITGO to bring a grant to the library for the teen STEM program, he said.

"I am also involved with other community organizations and businesses to bring other grants and donations to the library," Culcasi said. "I also helped mold our new volunteer program that works with all ages and helps with programs and special projects in the library."

Tom Burton

Burton has lived in Lemont since 1992. He has a degree from Benedictine University and works as the director of new business development for a pre-media company. He was appointed to the board in 2013 and then elected in 2015. He calls his time on the board so far "very rewarding."

"When first elected, I felt the challenge was to keep the Lemont Library modern and up-to-date for our community," Burton said. "The library renovation was a success and accomplished just that. We were able to execute a renovation plan to provide our patrons with state-of-the-art resources without raising taxes to the community."

Burton has also been a member of the Lemont Liquor Commission and a former member and past president of Lemont SERTOMA.

"I am most passionate about the children's and senior programs," Burton said. He added that the library will continue the "many, varied, well-attended programs" for adult patrons.

"The ongoing focus should be on the future needs of the Lemont community," Burton said. He added that he forsees the library of the future "as much as a 'Digital Resource Center' as a place to check out a physical book, movie or magazine."

Vytenis Kirvelaitis

Kirvelaitis has lived in Lemont for nearly 25 years, and has a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. He is a licensed Illinois attorney and CPA. He currently is vice president of taxes at Cenveo.

Kirvelaitis was elected to the board in 1999 and serves as the current board president. When he first joined the board, he said the library had recently moved into its own facility from the space at LHS.

"As time went on and I became President of the Board, it became clear that our library needs had changed and a major redesign was necessary," Kirvelaitis said. Lemont voters passed a $2.8 million bond issue to renovate and expand the library in 2014.

"...The library project was successfully completed in a short 10 months, on time and on budget. This is truly a wonderful accomplishment," Kirvelaitis said.

He has previously served as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association State and Local Tax Committee and is currently co-chair of the ethics committee for Chicago Tax Club. Kirvelaitis has also been involved in community organizations like Scouts and Rotary Club.

Kirvelaitis said public libraries "need to continually reinvent themselves in order to stay relevant."

"I am a strong proponent of the 'virtual library' concept, whereby patrons remotely access articles, books, databases and research tools, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "This not only helps students and active adults who need information, but also those with health or mobility issues limiting their ability to physically visit our building."

Kirvelaitis said he also believes in continuing to "enhance our newly expanded and remodeled library in order to foster collaborative life-long learning."

He said a "recent revamping of the children's services has resulted in a 14 percent increase in the number of children's books checked out in the current fiscal year in comparison to the same period in the prior fiscal year."

To accomplish his goals for the library, Kirvelaitis said a strong financial footing must be maintained.

"This can be challenging for smaller communities such as ours, but our financial position is excellent, as illustrated by the fact that we have one of the better bond ratings in the state, continually balanced budgets and strong financial reserves," Kirvelaitis said. "Add in a high performance culture with people who truly care and we are clearly well-positioned to take our library to the next level. My goal is to get us there."

For more information about the incumbent candidates, you can visit their Facebook page or their website. For more information about financials at the library, visit their website.

There are four open positions on the library board for the April election. Four write-in candidates are also running for the positions: Michael Dunkin, Renee Miller Pravdik, Melissa Fischer and Patricia Doornbos.

If you are a candidate in the upcoming April 2 election, you can email andrea.earnest@patch.com for a candidate questionnaire.