Ethics Reform

Finances

When Mike first joined the Board, his first concern was the District’s uncertain financial situation. Declining non-tax revenues, years of deferred maintenance, and weak financial controls were among the problems Mike identified and sought to address early in his first term. Mike also objected to an attempt to restore free golf for commissioners, arguing that Board members could inspect and monitor property without resurrecting a perk that been used so widely in the past that it deprived the District of badly needed revenue.

Land Acquisition

Mike has continually urged the District administration to make acquisition a higher priority and to devote more resources to the task.

Lake Calumet

Mike has been particularly vocal about the need to acquire land in and around Lake Calumet in southeast Chicago, laying out the strong case for action in this region in his 2002 report Make No Small Plans. Though a century of heavy industrial use changed the landscape dramatically and created many environmental problems, it also protected the natural world from the usual forces of residential and commercial development. As a result, the Lake Calumet region is home to over 2,500 plant and animal species, including the bald eagle and over 200 other birds.

Land Policy

Soon after taking office, Mike battled the District administration over the sale of Forest Preserve land to the village of Rosemont for use as a parking lot. In 2004 he drafted an ordinance reaffirming and expanding the District’s land policy, which was unanimously approved by the Board and enacted in November 2004.

What others are saying...

"Mike Quigley wants to put the preserve back in forest preserves."
Daily Herald - May 5, 2004