Dixmoor Public Library District Board members took their quest for a library to the public Saturday, seeking support to build a facility in town.
The district, which is independent from the village government, must secure Village Board permission to open a library, but trustees say for years town leaders have refused to allow a new building or a temporary home.
Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts attended, but walked out within an hour of the meeting followed by another trustee. Only Village Trustee Toni Mitchell stayed, and she said, through tears, she is hated by library board members.
“That is not right how they treated me,” Mitchell said.
She started crying at the library meeting, saying, “I’m still trying to get over it to this day. I want everything to be fair. … You don’t know what they did.”
Mitchell said she didn’t even know if she could help the library board.
“I see trustees here who have hatred toward me and I don’t even know them. … I want to work with you guys. Can we work together? I want to know how. I’m just one person,” Mitchell said.
Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts addresses the Dixmoor Public Library Board June 22, 2024. (Jesse Wright/for the Daily Southtown)
Mayor Roberts appeared to oppose to any cooperation though, leaving immediately after he said if anyone had questions about the library, they could call him. The meeting was held in a church, and he said he didn’t want to argue in a house of worship.
Village Trustee Judnita Smith said she doubted the town needed a library. She said she recently went to another nearby library and saw only two patrons.
“I want whatever the residents want but I want us to spend our money the right way,” Smith said. “I noticed there’s no treasurer. How much do you have for this library? How much will it cost to build this library?”
Library board building consultant Dorothy McMurtry speaks June 22, 2024, about what a new library could bring the Dixmoor, with artist sketches of a proposed building from 2017. (Jesse Wright/for the Daily Southtown)
Library board members say they’re not using village money for anything. As an independent district, the library board can collect taxes to fund itself. Still, Smith said, she didn’t want to support something that could raise taxes if the residents didn’t need or want a library.
“I would vote the way you all want, but I’m told the taxes would go up,” she said. “What do the residents want?”
Smith left with the mayor though, amid shouts of “it’s not your money” from the audience.
The library board’s building consultant, Dorothy McMurtry, said the district’s books were not secret and anyone could see their revenue.
“If I see something that’s a nickel out of place, I will let you know,” McMurtry told the audience. “You can request information about where the funds are. You can do that. … Not one person can vote and anything goes. Everyone has to vote. The majority rules.”
But without the village’s support, the library district has been unable to raise donations or do much of anything as they’re essentially without a space to do it.
Dixmoor residents can now use the library in Robbins, under an agreement the Dixmoor Library Board has with the William Leonard Public Library District.
Library board members have proposed building a library at 14501 Davis Ave., and they have architectural drawings from 2017 to guide the process, but the village leadership has refused to zone the property for library use. Library leadership said Saturday they’d be happy sharing a retail space in a shopping center.
Dixmoor Library Board members say they would like to put a library on this vacant lot on Davis Avenue. (Jesse Wright/for the Daily Southtown)
McMurtry pleaded with Mitchell to convince the others on the Village Board to approve the space. McMurtry said the space wouldn’t cost the library much and they could use existing savings to pay for a permanent building.
“If you give it to us, we will get this operational,” McMurtry said. “We need your support to get us into that storefront. Give us three years in that storefront and we will have a building on that land. Give us your support for that.”
The library board had planned a meet-and-greet event in 2022 on the Davis Avenue property, but it was shut down by village code enforcement officers who issued fines for lack of a permit. Library officials said they had sought a permit at a Village Board meeting, but were denied.
A month later, a municipal hearing officer dismissed the fines.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
