Development paralyzed by infighting

(From the Daily Herald)

Turning page on board discord

Antioch trustee says let’s stop, read a book

By Corrinne Hess
chess@dailyherald.com
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007

Development paralyzed by infighting, board meetings lasting four, sometimes five hours, and top administrators resigning plague Antioch’s village board these days.
Trustee Scott Pierce thinks he has a solution: Take a year off and read a book.
Pierce has drafted a 1,014-word letter to fellow trustees asking that all hot-button issues be put on hold for a year. He also recommends reading “The Art of Getting Along,” a book by Wilfred Peterson published in 1949, and highlighted a section called “Wanted, Calm Men.”
The letter will be read during Monday’s village board meeting in Pierce’s absence.
“I’m hoping everyone will step back, take a breath and realize we need to put Antioch first,” he said. “A lot of residents have come to me and said they are upset by all of the fighting that has gone on. I’m trying to respond in a grown-up fashion.”
Infighting long has existed on the village board but escalated after the April 17 election when incumbents Barbara Porch and Mary Turner lost their seats.
There was a swing in the power pendulum when incumbent Larry Hanson and newcomers Dennis Crosby and Michael Wolczyz were sworn in May 7. Meetings now run three to four times longer than in the past.
Some of the issues Pierce wants to put on hold include changing the way committees are established and how the village attorney is paid. Recently, board members asked that both issues be studied.
Instead, Pierce said, development along Route 173, the aquatic center and finances should be the focus.
Crosby and Hanson said changes proposed for how the village operates will allow for greater transparency and shouldn’t be put on hold.
“Scott is always very thoughtful about these things, but I don’t share his opinion,” Crosby said. “They’ve had their way for a number of years. We’re not trying to shove anything down their throat, just trying to do what make sense.”
Said Hanson: “I’m going to keep the course I was elected to do — that was change. If they don’t agree and we don’t agree, that is healthy.”
Trustee Bob McCarty said he didn’t want to comment without seeing the letter, and other board members could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Tension on the village board peaked during the April campaign when Hanson filed a complaint alleging identity theft by Pierce after Pierce purchased www.lmhanson.com to promote Hanson’s opponents.
The complaint was thrown out by the Lake County state’s attorney’s office.
Pierce said that experience has shown him taking the high road is a better choice.
“We are all so angry with each other,” he said. “There are so many things I could say about Taso (Maravelas, former Antioch mayor), Larry Hanson or Bob Caulfield. I could dish out a lot — and I know they could, too — but we need to move forward.”