La Grange Park Official Has No Conflict of Interest: Village

La Grange IL

23 April, 2021

1:39 PM

Description

LA GRANGE PARK, IL — The village of La Grange Park is disputing a mailer that alleges one of its trustees has a conflict of interest. The mailer, which is under the name of attorney Anne Bennett, identified Trustee Jamie Zaura as having the conflict. A few months ago, the mailer said, the La Grange Park Library board approved Zaura's architectural firm, 845 Design Group, as the architect for a library renovation. The mailer pointed out the library board's meeting minutes, which state that the board picked 845 Design Group, in part, for its "local tie-ins." In some towns, the municipal board controls the library. That is not the case in La Grange Park. The village and library are run by separately elected boards. The village government holds no power over the library. A person writing under Anne René Bennett's name emailed Patch last week about the allegation. Patch then determined the two elected boards are structured independently of each other. Informed of this fact, the person responded it didn't matter whether the village and library are separate. "The issue is Zaura's position was an unduly influential deciding factor in her being selected as stated by the Library Board and staff," the person wrote. On Friday, a La Grange Park resident emailed a photo of the mailer sent under Anne Bennett's name to Patch. It was unclear how many residents received it. Patch then emailed Zaura about the matter. A while later, the village released a statement through Village Manager Julie Cedillo's email account. The village said its lawyer determined Zaura had no conflict, noting the library and village are separate from operational and taxing standpoints. A conflict of interest would exist, the library said, if a trustee took part in discussions or voted on a matter in which he or she had had an interest — for instance, if the library sought zoning relief from the village and Zaura was serving as a consultant for the library. In such cases, trustees recuse themselves when they have economic interests, the village said. "There is nothing inherently wrong with the Library Board's taking into consideration Jamie's experience as a former Zoning Board member and a current trustee," the village statement said. "Those experiences have likely increased her knowledge of La Grange Park Zoning and Building Codes. This knowledge is valuable to any client, since zoning and building ordinances vary greatly from village to village." To suggest otherwise, the village said, "impugns the motives of both Trustee Zaura and the Library Board, neither of whom have done anything improper." Two Anne Bennetts are listed as attorneys on the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission website — one in Chicago, the other in La Grange. The one with "René" as a middle name is in Chicago. Patch left messages at phone numbers for the Anne Bennetts listed on the state attorney website, but they were not returned.