Lake Forester, November 25, 2009

Shields Township votes to consider giving grants

BY LINDA BLASER

Twelve social service agencies in jeopardy of losing grants from Shields Township got a reprieve Nov. 19 when the board of trustees voted 3-2 to consider each request individually following a 10-minute presentation by each agency.

The vote came after nearly a half hour of comments from 10 of the 30 audience members, most of who were in support of approving the grants, which total $120,000. The former Shields board of trustees approved the grants last year and the funds already are in the budget, Township Supervisor Gale Strenger Wayne said.

"I thought we voted last month," Trustee Cele Bull said at the outset of the discussion.

"These agencies came to us unsolicited. They know this is the time of year applications are processed," Strenger Wayne said.

"Seventy-two percent of voters said they were not in favor of using our tax dollars to fund these agencies," Bull said.

Waddle Brooks of North Chicago was the first member of the audience to speak during the public comments on the possibility of cutting the grants.

"I am appalled at what I am hearing," Brooks said.

'No place'

"Voters did say by 70 percent didn't want private grants," said Jan Schnobrich of Lake Bluff. "Government has no place in giving to private agencies."

Jon Hirsch of Lake Bluff and a member of the YouthBuild Lake County coalition disagreed and commented that the wording of the referendum was "completely confusing."

"To say government doesn't fund social services is ludicrous," Hirsch said. Without government funding, "you would see these social services collapse."

If the social service agencies that service Shields Township collapse, Hirsch said those in need would have no chance at success.

"I pay $10,000 in property taxes each year. It's exactly $12 of my tax money that goes to charity. To think we're thinking about taking away money form these organization's that support our community is appalling. I'm personally embarrassed that we're even talking about this," he said.

Janet Fryer, the senior advocate at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Senior Center, said cutting grants would have a big effect on the viability of most agencies.

"I just don't' want people in this room to think if we don't fund it, someone else will," Fryer said to the board, adding: "If you don't fund it, hours will be cut, services will be cut."

Trustee Laura Carney said at the end of the public comments that "township government is not mandated to give these funds. It's completely discretionary."

Strenger Wayne made the motion to vote on interviewing each social service agency that requested a grant and vote on each disbursement individually. Trustee Mary Woodson seconded the motion.

Trustee Lynn Baehr voted "No" on the motion, as did Bull. Woodson and Carney voted "Yes." Strenger Wayne broke the tie by voting "Yes."

Carney added that she would not support the grants next year.