President of Glenview League speaks to the Glenview Board of Trustees regarding suspension of administrative rules

The purpose of the League of Women Voters of Glenview shall be to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government.  Inclusive in this principle is the function of the LWVG’s Observer Corps to attend regularly scheduled meetings of various boards on behalf of the Glenview League and   provide status reports to the LWVG Board of Directors.   It was through this process that a concern was raised and it was the decision of the Glenview Leagues’ Board of Directors to address the Village of Glenview Board of Trustees at its meeting on September 3rd.  Below is the text of statement addressing the suspension of administrative rules made by Joan Ziegler as the President of the League of Women Voters of Glenview. 

 “The League appreciates the many efforts made by village staff and elected board members to make local government more accessible and responsive to the members of the community.  However, we are concerned about an action taken on August 6th when the Glenview Board of Trustees waived administrative rules and adopted, on first reading, an ordinance, which reverses an amendment to the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance, passed on May 8, 2013.  While the League may request to comment on the content of the ordinance at a later date, tonight our comments are limited to the timing of the Board’s actions and the process, which was used.

 We feel that it is clear that a second consideration of this proposal was needed for several reasons:

·  First, based on League observation of the meeting video, several board members expressed a lack of familiarity with both the intent and workings of the amendment. 

·  Second, staff gave no explanation as to the intent of the amendment.

·  Third, the amendment was described as  “making mandatory for all landlords who lease apartments to renters, if they use Section 8 vouchers, they must rent to those renters.” This mischaracterization of the amendment implies that voucher holders are no longer required to meet the many criteria traditionally set by landlords.  The reality of this amendment is that it ONLY protects a Housing Choice Voucher holder from being denied a rental SOLELY on the basis of his or her source of income. It wasn’t until 1993 that citizens whose income is derived from sources such as social security or child support have been protected from landlord discrimination.  The purpose of this amendment was to give housing voucher holders this same protection.

·  Last, the explanation that Glenview was only going back to the status quo is a troubling precedent, indicating that reversion to prior law does not require a second reading and public input.

Surprisingly, it was after the village board’s vote to enact its own ordinance and reverse Cook County’s efforts that Glenview trustees expressed a desire to get more staff research and hear from the community on this issue.  While we applaud that sentiment, input on an issue as important as this one should have been sought before action was taken and had there been a second reading it likely would have been sought.  The explanation was given that a vote needed to be taken quickly because Cook County’s ordinance would go into effect two days later, but it had been almost three months since the May 8th date on which the County Board had voted on the amendment.   It would seem that Glenview had ample time to examine this in a more thoughtful way.

We hope that the Glenview Board of Trustees will reconsider their action and give this Human Rights Ordinance the consideration it deserves once it has reviewed the research requested of the staff and allowed the public the opportunity to express their views.”