In Maywood, Property Owners Can Eliminate Wasteful Spending and See Relief in Taxes by Voting Yes to Consolidating the Village’s Two Park Systems on Election Day

Critics Say the Village Must take Over the Maywood Park District Because It is Fiscally Irresponsible and Unable to Offer Programs Even Though It Collects $800,000 Annually from Taxpayers
Mayor Nathaniel Booker- Photo provided by Jerry Thomas PR
Mayor Nathaniel Booker- Photo provided by Jerry Thomas PR

In Maywood, Property Owners Can Eliminate Wasteful Spending and See Relief in Taxes by Voting Yes to Consolidating the Village’s Two Park Systems on Election Day

On Election Day next Tuesday, residents of the Village of Maywood can do what no oversight authority or state agency established to protect Illinois residents from mismanagement has stepped up to do. By voting yes for a referendum to consolidate two entities that manage parks in the village, they can stop the poorly managed Maywood Park District, an authority independent of the village, from wasting nearly $800,000 a year of taxpayers' dollars that have produced no programs or community-wide events.

In fact, the Maywood Park District, which manages four parks and two community resource facilities, is flat broke. The only programs offered are from additional grants for independent organizations, such as a meal program for seniors.

The cash-strapped authority, which pays its interim executive director $110,000- a- year and for six months ending in August also paid its former $90,000-a-year executive director, recently had less than $300 in its accounts, according to officials who observed deposit receipts. It missed its last four payrolls even though it took out a $200,000 loan within the past year and is now nearly $500,000 in debt. Health and workers’ compensation insurance has lapsed, with employees owed more than $75,000 in medical bills. It faces a class action lawsuit from former employees, whose grievances include loss of wages, failure to provide insurance, and a hostile environment. It owes vendors, and some utility bills have not been paid for years. Besides programming challenges, the Maywood Park District has failed to modernize playgrounds or provide upkeep. A park district building was shut down and deemed unsafe following numerous violations, including electrical, kitchen, and roofing. Earlier this month, a youth was stabbed on park grounds that was unsupervised by staff.

The park district has a splintered, five-member board. Turnover on the board and with senior leadership, staff, and consultants such as lawyers and auditors has been high. New board members said they have seen no budgets, audits, or programming, with the last audit completed five years ago.

When asked to validate some financial information, Maywood Park District Commissioners Jeff Eaton and Darryl Bass could not.

“I have never seen a financial report,” said Eaton, 50, who has lived in Maywood for most of his life and joined the board in March, believing volunteering for the park district would be an effortless way to give back to his community. “The leadership of the park district is not doing what they are supposed to be doing in terms of opening up the books.”

Bass, who has lived in the community since 2008, said he recently visited the bank to review the financials. “It did not look how it should,” said Bass, who served as a bank auditor for 12 years.
When asked how this could Have persisted for so long, with no financials presented, the last audit five years ago, and no agendas approved, Eaton said, “The policies and procedures by which the board operates give cover for malfeasance.” Bass said, “We have a treasurer who will not sign his name on a finance report.”

Current and former officials, employees, and residents say they have turned to numerous government agencies and governing bodies for help: the Illinois Department of Labor, the State Attorney’s Office, the Executive Ethics Commission, The Cook County Inspector General’s Office, iPARKS, The Illinois Department of Parks and Recreation, the National Recreation and Parks Association, but their concerns are pushed to the side because the park district is not under the authority of a municipality.

With no help on the way, the Maywood officials and other critics of the Maywood Park Districts said the village is taking matters into its own hands. Outraged about wasteful spending, they have empowered overtaxed residents to turn out to the polls on November 5 to vote on two public questions about the park district's future.

The first question is, “Shall the Village of Maywood manage all parks and recreation centers in the Village to improve recreational services, eliminate duplicate expenses, and reduce administrative costs for the residents of the Village of Maywood?”

The second question reads: The Maywood Park District has an annual tax levy of $700,000. “Shall annual tax levy funds of the Maywood Park District be allocated to create a Village of Maywood Park residential property tax rebate program if the Maywood Park District is dissolved into the Village of Maywood?

The consolidation, advocates say, will eliminate duplicate spending for legal, finance, human resources, and public works departments. Bills for healthcare, electricity, legal, security systems, computer software, vendors, and other needed support can be consolidated. There would also be more accountability and transparency since the park district has not presented an audit or reconciled budget to the public in five years. Most importantly, by consolidating, playgrounds will be upgraded just like the parks managed by the village. In 2024, the village installed four new playgrounds, updated six basketball courts, five baseball fields, and 21 blocks of the Illinois Prairie Path. It also installed a dog park and has hosted numerous community-wide events.

“When you look at all the taxes that are being piled on the people in Cook County, and when you look at Maywood being one of those areas hit very hard, we should be looking at every way to minimize the impact of taxes, and this is one sure way to reduce the tax burden,” Mayor Booker said.

Darquez Pulliam, 34, a lead foreman for the Maywood Park District for six years, said he plans to vote for the consolidation. The village, he said, should take complete control of the park district facilities because “they are just running the parks in the ground.” He also fears the park district is “scamming” the residents.

“A lot of people are being misled. They were giving people promises and hopes and things have not been done. Park district officials have not accomplished anything they said they would do,” said Pulliam, who says he is owed $27,000 in back pay and resigned after the district failed to provide him with workman compensation after an on-the-job injury. “They did not fix the parks. They did not fix the swings. They did not fix the playgrounds. They did not add the right amount of mulch. They received grants for seniors. They were charging seniors for programs that were supposed to be free. That is highway robbery.”

Mayor Booker said Tuesday’s vote essentially decides the next steps regarding the referendum vote on April 1, 2025. Fifty-one percent of the voters need to check yes.

“To get a binding referendum to consolidate the park district, you need 66 percent of the vote and 5,000 signatures, but in a community where less than 3,000 turn out for a mayoral election, it can be hard to get 5,000 signatures,” Mayor Booker said. “This is why we are sounding the alarm and building awareness about the referendum. These are your tax dollars. You will let us know what you want to do on November 5. If you want the park district to remain as manager of the four parks and two community resource facilities, vote for the park district to remain. If you want the village, which manages seven parks and two governing assets, to step in and do what it needs to do, and if you want to save tax dollars, I urge you to get to the polls on Tuesday and vote yes.”

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