Politics has always been a rough-and-tumble arena that can bring out the worst in people.
But these days, we seem to be witnessing more instances in which politicians at every level appear more intent on battling the other side than coming together to make government work.
In one unfortunate example, the bitterly divided board of trustees of the north suburban Niles-Maine Library District has been at loggerheads to the point little gets done, including doing more than making temporary patches to fix the leaking roof.
After one member of the seven-member board resigned more than a year ago, the remaining three-member blocs have been able to agree on little, including the appointment of a replacement board member.
Because the board showed no sign of reaching a resolution, the Legislature stepped in and unanimously passed a law enabling Secretary of State Jesse White, who is also the state librarian, to fill the vacancy if the board couldn’t manage to do so within 90 days.
The board couldn’t agree, so White appointed Umair Qadeer, who previously sat on the board for four months after having been appointed to fill an earlier vacancy about two years ago.
End of story? Not exactly. A sitting board member filed for a temporary restraining order against White’s pick, preventing Qadeer from participating in meetings, leaving the stalemate in place. On Oct. 7, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Alison Conlon made the restraining order permanent. Now, state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, has filed legislation she told us will be acted on in next month’s veto session to make it clear White’s pick can take his seat.
How does this infighting help the library serve its patrons? We’re not sure. A Niles-Maine librarian told us patrons say they want an end to the conflict — as well as an end to both a hiring freeze and a cutback in hours.
The brouhaha in Niles-Maine feels like a piece of a larger nationwide story in which many of those elected to governmental seats or who are running for them seem to have less interest in making government work than in sticking it to the opposition.
Somehow, America needs to nurture a stronger sense of civic-mindedness, in which we recognize we are all in this together. Political factions will never agree on everything, but they should do a better job of seeking common ground.
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