Cook Memorial board veteran won't run in 2011

The Cook Memorial Public Library board's most veteran member won't seek re-election next year.

Vernon Hills resident Karen Broms, who's served on the board since 2003, told the Daily Herald on Thursday she'll step down when her current term ends in May.

Broms, 44, called her decision to leave the board “a self-imposed term limit.”

“I think that strong leadership is best when there's a blend of experience and fresh ideas,” she said.

Broms pledged to continue working with the library's community-support group and to help Cook Memorial “in every way I can.”

Broms joined the Libertyville-based board during a period of great turmoil but was part of its evolution into a smooth-running operation.

She was appointed to fill a vacancy in August 2003 and was elected to a 2-year term in 2005. She was elected in 2007 to a 4-year term ending next spring.

At her first meeting as a trustee, Broms was part of the board majority that voted to censure then-member Jack L. Martin after deciding he censored the library's holdings by removing copies of a free newspaper containing content he found objectionable, among other allegations.

In December 2003, Broms defended the right of a representative of the American Library Association to speak to the board about intellectual freedom. Martin opposed the invitation, calling the national organization's stance “extreme liberalism.”

The following year, Broms and two other trustees were admonished by then-board President Ed Abderholden for writing letters to the Daily Herald's opinion page about board issues, saying they violated the board's ethics rules.

Such public squabbles were common at the time. But after Martin and ally Tom Forester left the board in 2005, the panel got down to some serious business.

In 2006, it developed a proposal to simultaneously remodel the historic Libertyville library and build a new library in Vernon Hills, a plan now nearing completion. The following year, the board also hired a director, Dan Armstrong, who developed a $14 million plan to fund the construction project without raising taxes.

Earlier this year, the board hired Stephen Kershner as the district's new director following Armstrong's abrupt retirement.

Board President Bonnie Quirke praised Broms for being a reasoned and aggressive advocate for the library and its customers.

“Absolutely every board needs a person like Karen,” Quirke said. “She's a watchdog. She takes her responsibilities as an elected official very seriously.”

Five of the library board's seven seats will be up for election in April. Four of them are 4-year terms held by Broms, Quirke, Wendy Vieth and Nate Johnson.

The other seat on the ballot will be a 2-year term held by Tom Milowski.

All of the incumbents except Broms have pulled the paperwork needed to appear on the ballot, library officials said. The filing period begins Monday, Dec. 13.

“I hope the voters have great candidates to choose from,” Broms said. “The library is doing well and moving in a wonderful direction.”