Above / The Naperville Park District Administrative Offices are located at 320 W. Jackson Avenue. On May 14, 2020, the NPD Board of Commissioners held its meeting on Zoom. (Photo courtesy of Samaara Luthman for the Naperville Park District)
Last Friday, just as your Positively Naperville editors were finishing up a very long story with our opinion that it’s time to get back to business, we received expected news that the Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners had voted “to pursue legal action seeking a determination that it may exercise its statutory authority to make decisions about the District’s essential functions, including District programs and the use of District property, independently of specific dictates in the Governor’s Executive Order.”
By now, most taxpayers are aware that the board voted 4-3 to pursue getting on with planning their immediate future. Board President Rich Janor and Commissioners Bill Eagan, Mike King and Josh McBroom voted in favor while Commissioners Mike Reilly, Marie Todd and Bobby Carlsen were opposed. (Click here to read news released from the Naperville Park District on May 15, 2020.)
The “Zoom” video of the May 14, 2020, meeting is saved on the Naperville Park District website (Then click on “meetings” on the navigation bar on this page). Viewers will be able to find all public comments responding with agenda items as part of the audio/video record, said Samaara Luthman, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Naperville Park District. Luthman also noted some technical difficulties with the production of the Zoom meeting.
During the meeting, Naperville resident Adam Russo, a clinical social worker and founder of Edgewood Clinical Services, was among several residents who participated in public comment for three minutes.
We asked Russo for a copy of the comments that he presented to the board, asking for permission to publish them here in their entirety.
Public Comments by Adam Russo
“When schools closed at the end of the day March 13, and thousands of families were told we would move to ‘e-learning,’ it was scary. It was scary because we had heard reports of what was occurring in China, some about Italy, little bit about New York, and we were scared that it would happen here.
“Kids were nervous about the change, parents had no idea what to expect not only from the educational perspective about their kids, but their professional lives as well. Would they be able to successfully work remotely? What type of sustainability would their company have? How could they work and make sure their kids could go to school?
“The solace at the time was the belief that it had to be a ‘short term’ solution. It was two weeks before spring break. Parents and kids said to themselves, ‘OK, let’s just get through the next two weeks. I’m sure schools will open back up after spring vacation. And sure things are closed now, but I’m sure some time in April things will open back up again, and we’ll keep things moving.’
“Parents believed this because what was told to the population was that this virus was potentially so dangerous, we didn’t want to overwhelm our health care system. We needed to ‘flatten the curve,’ so that our hospitals would be able to treat COVID patients in addition to the regular patients who would be admitted for heart attacks, strokes, etc. We respected this, believed in this mission.
“Hospitals were told that there were potentially so many COVID patients coming, they had to cease performing elective procedures to make sure there were enough beds available. Our health system was ready.
“But a funny thing has happened now as we are in mid-May. Not much has happened. There has been no rush of patients. There hasn’t been mass death. We do know that if you live in a senior facility you are at extreme risk. Other than that, there hasn’t been much. And ironically, a healthcare crisis is actually leading to a healthcare led recession. Edward Hospital alone was reporting a $50 million dollar shortfall in revenue because of a lack of patients.
“The ripple effects of these decisions have been catastrophic. As of today, about 36 million people have filed for unemployment across the country. Locally, Kane County is reporting a 139% increase in child abuse cases, Naperville is reporting a 7% increase in Domestic Disturbance calls, and a 28% increase in domestic violence calls. Much of this is because people are drinking more during lockdown. Alcohol sales are up 20-25% compared to this period of time last year. Of course, liquor stores are an ‘essential business,’ but that’s a rant for another meeting.
“People are cooped up. They are anxious and fearful, which leads them to have angry outbursts. They’re trying to control things that they can’t control. They may have been laid off, their business may be on the verge of bankruptcy, they have nothing to do. And on top of it, their kids have nothing to do. Everyone is cooped up, angry, frustrated. Getting on each other’s nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
“The places they used to turn for activity have been forced to close. Again, in the beginning, we were receptive to these decisions because we didn’t know what to expect. If the Fort Hill Center was closed for a little while, OK. Spring soccer delayed? No problem. But two months of nothing, and nothing on the horizon for the future…
“No exercise centers can open. No summer sports. People just sitting around, getting lazy and angry about a situation they can’t control.
“And why? Because our Governor has decided. No one else. I should remind you, that he works for us, just like you. You work for us. The people. The beauty of our country is that the people have freedom and choice. If I want to go exercise at Fort Hill, or enroll my child in soccer, I should be free to make that decision. If I’m too nervous about doing those things, I have the choice to stay home.
“My freedom doesn’t end where someone else’s fear begins. Liberty doesn’t work that way.
“As Mayor Chirico has made clear recently, all COVID deaths that have occurred in Naperville were at Senior living facilities. Yes, positive cases are going up, but that’s only because of increased testing. The most recent fear-mongering headline was that there was an increase of 4,000 cases in Illinois. This was plastered on the Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune pages. When one reads deeper, you can see that almost 30,000 tests were done that day, a positive rate of about 12%, well below the 20% threshold that Pritzker set.
“And now here we are, debating about whether or not to legally challenge the Governor’s order. To me, there are two reasons to challenge it:
“First, given how the past eight weeks have unfolded, the damage being done is outweighing the ‘safety’ the lockdown was supposed to provide. Kids and adults alike need an outlet, and so many of them turn to the park district for this. Give them the outlet, responsibly. People have a choice, don’t make that choice for them. Open the activity centers with provisions. And unless there’s a study that says a bunch of 9-year-olds playing youth soccer is like a petri-dish for the virus, let the kids play soccer. Let’s use a little bit of common sense here and not be swayed by fear.
“Second, our political system is based on checks and balances. The Naperville Park District’s challenging this order will be a real wake up call to those who believe their orders must be followed, or else. Governor Pritzker last night threatened to take business licenses away from those business who violate his order. He must be challenged, and by a group like the Park District who can stand toe-to-toe with the Springfield machine.
“Look no further than Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and Space-X. Alameda County in California wouldn’t let him open the Tesla factory. He said to them, I’m opening it. The county said no. Musk then spoke with Texas officials about moving Tesla there. And what do you know, the county gave him approval to open.
“Unfortunately, for there to be change, risks must be taken. Pressure must be applied.
“History is on our side. If our Founders simply decided to go along with the additional tax on tea, we may well not be here today. Sometimes decisions are simply wrong, and they must be challenged.
“I’ll conclude with a quote by Ayn Rand: The smallest minority on earth is the individual. I’m respectfully asking you to stand up for individuals to make their own choices about their own lives, and to challenge the Governor. Thank you.”
And Russo submitted his words for the record to the Naperville Park District.
We also asked Commissioner Josh McBroom for a printed copy of his comments.
Comments by Commissioner Josh McBroom
“I want to thank everyone who took the time to speak tonight, and all the emails we have received.
“We have received opinions and desires from all sides—from parents, people who work in healthcare, athletic coaches, fitness professionals, and mental health professionals.
“The overwhelming volume of messaging we are receiving is from people pleading with the Naperville Park district to do something to safely open up parks and make youth sports available, of course for parents who choose to have their child participate.
“Choose is the key word here– no one is suggesting we force people to use the parks or put their kids in our programs. It’s called freedom, and people should have the freedom to choose whether or not they are willing to accept risks in their lives. So, here is the very difficult predicament the Naperville park district is faced with. We are not allowed to pick and choose which parts of the order to follow. There are many programs we could open safely right now if we had any flexibility from the governor to make local safety decisions.
“Baseball is a perfect example. It’s ridiculous that kids are not playing little league baseball right now. We have also heard from mental health professionals, and they are telling us the damage we are doing to public health with this continued shut down is significant cost that needs to be addressed, especially for our kids.
“We are being told that we are causing potentially permanent damage to our kids social, emotional, and physical development. It all seems pretty obvious to me, keeping kids isolated from their peers for months and missing spring athletics. To continue this for what seems like several months, with no real end in sight— to me is tantamount to child abuse. And I won’t be complicit in child abuse. The current path is not acceptable, and should not be accepted.
“This virus needs to be taken seriously, but a conversation needs to take place—especially at park districts, are we actually being counter productive, and causing more damage to physical and mental health than this virus has the ability to do?
“So, It is my position that we explore all options to break free from orders from Springfield to allow us to make our own safe and responsible decisions in order to allow our constituents the freedom of choice.”
When McBroom sent his words upon our request, he added, “I remain steadfast that we must have a conversation about the very real health costs the shutdown is causing. We are neglecting our kids social, emotional, and physical development and I believe neglect is a form of abuse where someone who is responsible for caring for the needs of another fails to do so. Now is not the time to be indifferent or unwilling to follow the NPD mission ‘to provide recreation and park experiences that promote healthy lives, healthy minds and a healthy community.’”
In a written statement Board President Rich Janor added his thoughts.
Final Thoughts by Board President Rich Janor
“As a local unit of government, the Park District’s operations are recognized as essential under the Governor’s Executive Order and the District is vested with the statutory power over the District’s properties and programs. We intend to fulfill our mission to provide recreation opportunities for our residents,” explained Janor.
“We understand that an important part of being healthy includes staying active and that includes being able to use some of the outdoor amenities and operate some of the programs that the District provides. The Governor’s Executive Order improperly interferes with the Board’s ability to make those decisions.”
Post Script with More Opining / Contact Elected Officials
As publishers, we’re often drawn to the wit and wisdom featured in books with quotes by other editors, publishers and columnists, past and present.
Elbert Hubbard, a newspaper publisher who valued the importance of perseverance, provided a number of memorable quotes back when he lived from 1856 to 1915.
“The world is moving so fast these days that the man who said it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it,” noted Hubbard more than 100 years ago.
Considering the uncharted challenges and persistence of this pandemic as well as its unintended consequences, perhaps readers could persevere in their pros or cons, taking time to contact local elected officials as well as Illinois state senators and representatives to let them know what they think about opening up planning for the future and health for all. —PN
Update May 20, 2020 / Note: To share your opinion, pro or con, kindly contact the Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners at allparkcommissioners@napervilleparks.org.
And/or contact the Naperville Mayor at chiricos@naperville.il.us and other members of the Naperville City Council at council@naperville.il.us.
Also, contact JCAR (Joint Committee on Administrative Rules), a bipartisan legislative oversight committee created by the General Assembly in 1977 that meets Wed., May 20, 2020. The Illinois group of 12 that will recommend the future of Illinois needs to hear from constituents. Here’s the link to info about JCAR: www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/. Click here to visit the page with all the JCAR members and phone numbers.
Unfortunately, yesterday when we used JCAR phone numbers listed, phones were busy and/or voicemail boxes full. We tried contacting local elected officials who represent Naperville in Springfield (State Rep. Kifowit, State Rep. Stava-Murray, State Rep. Wehrli) to express opinions, with a message for them to forward our view to JCAR.
