A seventh, tie-breaker trustee will not be seated on the Niles-Maine Library District Board of Trustees for at least another two weeks while the Illinois Attorney General and Joseph Makula, a library board trustee, try to settle a disagreement over whether a law passed in May allows Secretary of State Jesse White to appoint trustees to vacancies that existed prior to the measure’s passage.
White’s pick for the board, Umair Qadeer, was set to be sworn in at an evening meeting Sept. 21, but earlier that day, a judge granted Makula’s request for a temporary restraining order. That prevented the new trustee from taking his seat.
Qadeer’s delay in joining the board meant the current six trustees remained deadlocked 3-3 over key issues in running the library as the calendar crept closer to the approval date for the next year’s budget.
The board did approve a $6.6 million budget Sept. 26 despite condemnations from three of the trustees over its failure to budget for the 35 staff positions that have been vacated over about the past 15 months.
Makula’s attorney Daniel Kelley said Friday morning he and his client hoped to settle the case.
“We’re looking for agreement that the law applies prospectively from May 27 and not to this particular vacancy,” Kelley said.
Assistant State’s Attorney Aidan Nuttall, who is representing White, said he expected to be able to respond to Kelley Friday and asked for a two week status hearing.
Kelley agreed, as long as White did not try to push the appointment forward in the interim.
More Top Picks Best Yellow Tinted Glasses For Night Driving
“I don’t believe that under the current law my client would attempt to make another appointment,” Nuttall said.
Makula and attorney Daniel Kelley first filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against White Sept. 19.
At issue is a law passed in the Illinois General Assembly in May that empowers White, acting in his capacity as state librarian, to appoint replacement trustees to vacant board positions older than 90 days. After a 90-day period, the law provides another two months or 60 days to make an appointment.
The Niles-Maine Library District Board of Trustees has been missing a member since August 2021, when Olivia Hanusiak resigned from the board.
Despite 13 applications to replace Hanusiak, the bitterly divided remaining trustees were not able to agree on a replacement.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure May 27, officially establishing a vacancy in the eyes of the new law and beginning the 90-day “clock.” After 90 days had elapsed on Aug. 27, the Secretary of State’s office began taking applications for the position. The application window closed Sept. 12 and White appointed Umair Qadeer to the seat Sept. 16.
Makula’s motion for a restraining order claims that White would have needed to appoint a replacement trustee by Feb. 12, 2022.
Qadeer, White’s pick to fill the seat, is a patent lawyer and a resident of unincorporated Maine Township. He has served on the library board of the Des Plaines Public Library and was a trustee on the Niles-Maine Library District board briefly. At that time, Qadeer had recently moved into the district, and said no one had informed him the law required individuals to reside in the district for one year before becoming trustees. Qadeer has now met that residency requirement.
The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18 at 10 a.m.