Politics & Government
New Member Set to Join Plainfield Park Board; Board Mulls Return of Planning Staff
The park board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The Plainfield Park District Board of Commissioners will get a little bigger this week.
New board member Rob Ayres is scheduled to be sworn in at the Nov. 12 meeting, set for 6 p.m. at the Heritage Professional Center, 24023 W. Lockport St.
Ayres was appointed by state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, thanks to a new law that expands the board from five to seven members.
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Bertino-Tarrant and State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, worked to pass a bill to expand the park board after residents complained about controversial decisions made by a past board majority.
The law also allows Cross to appoint a new member.
Find out what's happening in Plainfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Park board president Mary Kay Ludemann said she had hoped Cross would announce his appointee in time to allow both new commissioners to be sworn in together.
As of Monday afternoon, Cross — who remains locked in an increasingly narrow battle for the state treasurer’s office — had yet to announce his pick. Cross didn’t respond to a message from Patch on Monday.
Ayres, who is president of the Plainfield Soccer Association, works for Nicor and has been outspoken on park district matters.
Planning position
The park district could also see the return of the planning department on Wednesday.
An agenda item calls for the creation of a planning position.
The park district’s planning department was eliminated last December. At the time, park officials said Assistant Executive Director/Superintendent of Planning Cameron Bettin and landscape architect James Less resigned.
Both have since found new roles; Less was appointed to the Ottawa City Council in January, and Bettin was recently hired as the new director of the Pekin Park District.
Ludemann, who has called for the return of a planning position since the department was eliminated, said if the measure passes, a search for a planning staffer will begin.
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