Good governance is the collaboration of elected board/council members for the greater good. It’s about following processes and procedures to manage public resources with due regard for the rule of law and for the health and safety of the community.
In this small village of River Forest, we expect our board to work together to achieve good governance for no pay. That’s right, our elected officials in River Forest donate their time for the greater good. I believe we have good governance in River Forest.
While it would be wonderful to see more citizens stepping forward to serve, it just isn’t happening. The next local election, April 2025, we will be asked to vote for village president, unopposed; village trustees, four candidates for three seats; library board, only two candidates running for three seats, leaving one seat open.
Some residents are convinced that good governance can only occur when our village president is limited to the amount of time we allow her/him to serve our community. Limiting the terms of the village president, or any elected officials, takes away a valuable right to vote and limits our choices of who we vote for. Other communities in the area that have adopted term limits, have anywhere from three to four terms for all board members and clerk. The majority of their populations are more than River Forest.
That’s a much deeper pool than 11,000 in our village. If it’s such a great way to bring good governance, then why are so few doing it?
Perhaps it isn’t good governance as advertised by a few, but more about limiting our choices and our vote.
Jan Saeger
River Forest