Politics & Government

Peck Calls Citizens 'Radicals;' Resident Ejected from Park Board Meeting

The executive director called police and had Vicky Polito removed from Wednesday night's meeting.

A representative for a citizen advocacy group took Plainfield Park District Executive Director Garrett Peck to task for criticizing outspoken residents on Wednesday — just moments before Peck and president Peter Hurtado had one of those residents booted from a park board meeting.

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  • Maryam Judar, executive director the Citizen Advocacy Center, spoke up during public comment to condemn a Nov. 4 statement by Peck criticizing residents who took their concerns about the board to the Attorney General’s public access counselor (PAC).

    Titled “Letter from Garrett Peck, Executive Director, Plainfield Park District,” the note posted to the park district website blasts community members Vicky Polito and Susan Carlman for filing complaints with the Illinois Attorney General’s office, calling the residents “a small group of radicals.”

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    “Is it a policy of this board to belittle the public to discourage public participation?” Judar said, asking that the “offensive language” be removed from the website immediately.

    As of Thursday morning, the letter, which includes links to documents containing the residents' names and home addresses, was still posted to the site.

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    Polito, who has been an outspoken critic of recent decisions by park board members, was asked to leave after she made a comment during a board discussion on whether permits should be required for dog park users. Hurtado replied that if she continued, he would have to ask her to leave, and she answered, “You can ask.” Saying she was "disturbing the meeting," Hurtado then asked her to leave, and had Peck call the police.

    Polito left after two Plainfield officers arrived.

    She isn’t the only resident to be removed from a park board meeting in recent months. In May, Jim Racich — who serves on the Plainfield village board with Peck — was asked to leave after attempting to speak during public comment. Hurtado objected, saying residents had to sign up in advance if they wanted to make a comment at the meeting; Racich said he was unaware of the signup sheet and attempted to speak anyway.

    Like Polito, Racich was escorted out by police. “This is the democratic process — you’re seeing it,” he said as he voluntarily left the boardroom. 

    Judar asked if the park officials’ attitude towards outspoken residents was intended to have a “chilling effect” on citizens who disagree with government decisions.

    “It’s deplorable that elected officials and government staff would belittle citizens,” she said. “Really, we should be championing people who do that. So few people are civically engaged, we should encourage those who are."

    Judar said the Citizen Advocacy Center works to empower citizens to have a voice, but also provides services to help government bodies improve the way they deal with the public. On Wednesday, she offered to work with the Plainfield park board free of charge.

    “We would be willing to help the Plainfield Township Park District evaluate their processes when dealing wit the public,” she said.

    Peck note blasts residents

    The Nov. 4 note makes reference to a a Sept. 30 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Carlman, who sought information on individuals who had applied for an the Director of Communications position (currently held by Doug Booth). The request was denied, and the denial was upheld by the attorney general’s office. Link to the response from the attorney general’s office.

    Peck also complained about an accusation from Polito that the park board violated the Open Meetings Act by holding its June 12 meeting despite a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch. The OMA does not contain a specific prevision addressing circumstances under which a meeting should be cancelled, according to the response from the attorney general’s office.

    Several other OMA complaints have also been filed against the park district since a new board was elected in April, including one filed by board member Mary Kay Ludemann. Read: ‘Disgusted’ Park Board Member Files Complaint

    In his note, Peck had some scathing words for residents who have contacted the attorney general’s office.

    “This is the second unfounded complaint filed by a member of a small group of radicals who have openly tried to promote their political agenda by using the Illinois Attorney General’s office to review and possibly harass the Plainfield Park District Board for its decisions,” Peck wrote. “It is our opinion at the Park District that these complaints were frivolous and a financial distraction from our mission. Each complaint that is filed ultimately comes with a financial expense to the taxpayers. This is money that could have been spent expanding programs for children, veterans, and seniors here in our community.” Click here to read the full letter.

     More on the Plainfield Park District:


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