By: Christopher Placek
Source: Daily Herald 

Can Carol Stream have two library boards at the same time?

Wednesday marked yet another unusual twist in what has become one of DuPage County’s most unusual political sagas, when the newly elected board was sworn in two weeks earlier than scheduled — all in an attempt to prevent the outgoing board from trying to sell a 7.5-acre piece of property once intended for a new library.

The five-person Support the Library slate swept all five available trustee positions in the April 9 election, unseating a 5-2 majority that came to power last year under Board President Mike Wade.

On Wednesday night, each of the newly elected trustees came one by one into the library’s business conference room to take the oath of office from DuPage County Associate Judge Rob Douglas, the former library board president who stepped down last year when he was appointed to the bench.

The election results were certified Tuesday by the DuPage County Election Commission, and the official canvassing documents were delivered to the library Wednesday by Village Manager Joe Breinig. Receipt of the official results enabled the incoming trustees — incumbent board Vice President Jim Bailey and newcomers Bonita Gilliam, Patricia Johnson, Edward Jourdan and Nadia Sheikh — to be sworn in, per state law, Bailey said.

The Illinois Local Library Act states that the terms of existing board members end when their successors are sworn in — and the oath of office doesn’t have to take place at a formal board meeting, according to Phil Lenzini, a Peoria-based attorney who represents 250 public libraries throughout the state.

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