A labor leader is in line to fill a vacancy on the Chicago Park District board over the angry objections of parks advocates who said the nomination has been handled secretively and poses a conflict of interest.
George Vest Jr., president of the Northeastern Illinois District Council of Carpenters, was nominated by Mayor Richard Daley as the seventh member of the park board. At a sparsely attended meeting Wednesday of the City Council Committee on Beautification and Recreation, Daley`s allies voted 2-1 to recommend Vest for approval by the full council.
Erma Tranter, executive director of the watchdog group Friends of the Parks, charged that Vest has represented the carpenters union in contract negotiations with the park district and that his membership on the board would present a ”serious” conflict of interest.
Tranter, who consistently attends committee and park board meetings as a representative of the organization, said the committee meeting was the first one in her memory of which she was not informed.
”I`m always notified (by the committee). I always testify. We`re on the committee mailing list for all their meetings,” Tranter said. ”Our strong suspicion is that they wanted to sneak this through. An appointment this important requires thorough public scrutiny.”
Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), chairman of the Committee on Beautification, which conducts hearings on all park board appointments, said his secretary made a ”tactical mistake” in not informing Tranter of the hearing.
”We had tried to reach her . . . but with the rush of activity in the committee, we could not. Perhaps we should have written her.”
Schulter said he did not question Vest about any role in negotiating carpenters` labor contracts, saying, ”I just automatically assume that if there was a conflict there, he would excuse himself from that.”
Efforts to reach Vest were not successful.
Tranter also said that Vest was not well versed on issues confronting the parks and was unqualified for board membership.
Avis LaVelle, Daley`s press secretary, said Vest`s experience would prove an advantage to the board in deciding contract and labor issues.
”Maybe this appointment did not receive the Friends of the Parks stamp of approval, but that doesn`t mean he`s not a good appointment,” LaVelle said.
