Hello Friends,

A quick housekeeping note: Thanks for the kind words, but I am not on the ballot in 2025. This is my personal effort to provide a quick reference for the most important local election, the Wilmette Park Board of Commissioners. Voters will choose three out of six candidates on April 1.

Here’s a link to my first email.

Feel free to forward this around, sign up here, or unsubscribe below. As a reminder, this is part two of three, so stick around for a week or two.

Take These Three Steps to Be Election-Ready

✔ Check your voter registration – ensure you’re registered to vote in Wilmette.
✔ Voting in Wilmette is easy – decide whether you’lll vote by mail, early (March 17th to March 31st at Centennial ), or on April 1st.
✔ Get informed – stay tuned, resources will be available soon:

• The Record candidate interviews (pending)

Issue Updates

• Executive Director Search: The Board has approved a national search firm to assist in hiring a new Executive Director, with an expected timeline of four to six months. Did you know that the Wilmette Park District issues more W-2s than any organization in Wilmette except Wayfair? The Executive Director oversees this extensive operation, making this a critical hire for the future of WPD.

• Gillson South Beach - the Board reviewed focus group data and evaluated multiple non-fence options, such as a rope line, for access control. It is now clear that there will be No Fence on Harbor Drive at South Beach in 2025. The Board committed to exploring other potential pricing changes to enhance affordability. Keep an eye on the project page for updates.

• Major Capital Projects – Despite difficult weather, projects at Gillson and Langdon remain on track. The Hibbard pickleball and baseball field project, funded in part by an OSLAD grant, is ongoing.

• Financial & Strategic Planning – A work plan for the Finance Committee, restarted last September, was outlined at the February Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting.

• Strategic and Comprehensive Plan: The Board received its annual update on Strategic and Comprehensive Plan progress for 2024.

We Are All Neighbors

Public meetings are an important space for civil discourse and the way candidates engage in them is something voters may consider when making their decisions. At recent meetings, strong emotions and heated language have been evident during public comment, particularly regarding the Gillson Park discussion. At multiple meetings, a current candidate referred to Gillson Park as the 'Gaza Strip' and, at the February COW meeting, used an expletive for emphasis.

For those interested in reviewing past discussions, recordings of all meetings are available. A sample of this rhetoric can be found 2/10 Public Comment, (6:30 timestamp), as well as, 8/12/24 (18:41), and 9/9/24 (7:00) where commenters likened South Beach to the “Berlin Wall” and the fence similar to the “Warsaw Ghetto” (23:45). I encourage reviewing all public comments for full context, rather than relying solely on the timestamps provided.

Some voters may view this as passionate advocacy, while others may see it as a departure from the expected norms of public meetings. My only ask: let’s remember we’re neighbors and fortunate to live in Wilmette.

The League of Women Voters

The LWV Forum was insightful and worth watching. The discussion highlighted the experience of the incumbents and the priorities of the Unfence Gillson slate, creating a clearer sense of the differences in leadership approaches.

The LWV Guide was posted late last week. The guide is a valuable resource to compare candidates' backgrounds and priorities. I encourage everyone to take time to review it.

I’ll be sharing my final thoughts after The Record interview before the election, including reflections on leadership, experience, and the tone of this campaign. The choices we make in this election will have a lasting impact on the Park District and the way it serves Wilmette.

Sincerely,

Patrick Lahey