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28 | Illinois Parks and Recreation
in their own words
We asked five IAPD and IPRA members their secrets The key to influencing public policymakers is first to build a relationship with them. We asked five park and recreation executives and elected officials who are also experienced, successful advocates for IAPD-IPRA legislative initiatives to discuss how they have built relationships with legislators. We spoke to: Sandy Gbur, the executive director of the West Suburban Special Recreation Association; John McGovern, executive director of the North Suburban Special Recreation Association; Don Luy, president of the Decatur Park District Board; Ann Austin, a member of the Rock Island Park & Recreation Department Board; Collette Kubiesa, president of the Eimhurst Park District Board of Commissioners. Here's what they told us. Sandy Gbur: Get on Their Turf and Tell Your Story The first thing you do is obviously meet with them locally, when you don't necessarily have a need. You just want to get them educated about what you do and why you do it. When you meet them, you have to tell them your story: what you're out there for, what you do for people. My relationship with one of our legislators, Representative Skip Saviano, started years ago, just as I suggested: meeting with him locally and telling the story. Then a couple of years ago, Joe Modrich, the director of Franklin Park, and I went over to Skip's office to tell him how the tax cap was impacting services to people with disabilities. I asked Joe to come because the special recreation association is a levy of the park district (we exist through the district's levy authority), and so it's a park district story as well. We wanted to tell a very specific story about how the tax caps were killing us: We had people on waiting lists, I'd eliminated a full-time position at July/August 2003 | 29 our agency, all that. So we told the story, and I showed Skip the list of all my legislators. And he said, "Come up with an event, and let's get them all in one room and I'll get them to understand, and I'll get them to want to contribute towards the agency." We came up with the Derby Gala, held on Kentucky Derby Day. We've held it two years now. We made Skip the chair of the event and former State Senate President Phil Rock came aboard. Skip suggested that we get the steering committee to be all the area mayors, because who is involved in the event can make a difference in who attends. We did a kick-off in January and Skip got all the legislators there, all the park district board commissioners and directors and all of the mayors. And we told the story one more time, because the mayors don't always know what special rec is. Then Skip challenged his colleagues to all give a $1,000 pledge, and he pledged to double the single largest pledge from one of the legislators. Lo and behold, here are all the legislators coming up with a $1,000 donation that we would have never seen. Then they came to the event. We ended up making $30,000 our first year and $35,000 our second. From there, of course, the huge success story is Senate Bill 1881 being passed this spring, with Skip being one of the chief co-sponsors of the bill. Now why did he do it? He did it: one, because we asked; and two, because he understood it. He got the story. He'd already heard it two years ago. He knew what was going on. He knew the impact. So that's a real success piece: From going in and saying, "Hey, the cap is killing us" to saying, "Hey Skip, we're looking at Senate Bill 1881. We don't really know if we have a shot at this, but what do you think about exempting the special recreation levy from the cap?" And he said, "Let's go fork."
I don't think you can get a much better success story than passing a huge bill like that. John McGovern: Give Them the Grand Tour Last year when we were attending the IAPD Legislative Conference in Springfield, we knew pretty much what the redistricting map was going to look like. So I took the opportunity while I was there and met for the first time with our new legislator, Julie Hamos. And we took her to dinner. In the course of the conversation that evening, she said she had never seen a special recreation district. I thought I could invite her to take a tour, and did during that summer. I showed her the good things and the things we can't do because we don't have the resources. She was very knowledgeable about how special recreation districts are funded. She mentioned that maybe the levy for special recreation should not be burdened by the tax cap. I had only met her three months ago and she was already talking about specific ways to help us. We asked her to sponsor House Bill 1881, and it passed. So from the simple step of inviting her to dinner, listening to her and acting on what I heard, we passed a significant bill in Springfield just 14 months later. Listening is so important, even if you aren't interested in everything your legislator is interested in. Follow through is important too. Taking her on that tour was the key for us. Don Luy: Meet With Other Taxing Bodies to Present a Unified Message We are fortunate because we have good relationships with our legislators, even all the new ones we have as a result of redistricting. Annually we have a breakfast where we invite all our legislators, the Decatur park board members, the executive director and our directors of golf, recreation and operations. We get great attendance too. This year, Frank Watson, our state senator, couldn't make the breakfast but made an appointment to see us on a different day. We have just started doing something a little different that is helpful for more than just lobbying efforts. We now meet regularly with other local taxing bodies. It started as a sort of lobbying effort on the local level when a TIF district was being discussed. Now we are all using the results of the meetings on a state level. We can now go to our state legislators with the message that "this is of concern to our entire community." And the legislators are hearing the same message from other taxing bodies. We only contact them and ask them for something when it is a real issue. Otherwise we keep them updated 30 | Illinois Parks and Recreation
about what is going on and invite them to things in our park district, particularly if they have been instrumental in the funding mechanism. Our job is to help them identify needs in the community and they do their best to represent us in Springfield. Ann Austin: Appreciate Your Legislators -Today's Rep May be Tomorrow's DNR Director It is very valuable and important for us to keep legislators informed about what is going on in Rock Island. We just opened a $4.5 million pool, and we invited them to the opening. We were successful in gaining our first state grant for that pool with their help. We let them know our appreciation at the opening. We wanted them to share in what they were able to help accomplish. And at large events like that, we are able to give them access to their constituents, which is important. After my executive director. Bill Nelson, and I went to the Legislative Conference, we put an item on the agenda for our next board meeting of how we could have more interaction with our state legislators. The discussion with other board members gave us some good ideas and we had good materials to share with board members who did not attend the conference. Our former state representative, Joel Brunsvold, is now the director of the IDNR. We find that really exciting. As a park department, our close relationship can only benefit the area. We know Joel is highly interested in recreation. He was instrumental in developing a fitness center for our high school. He understands the issues. Joel is a personal friend too and it is wonderful that he has earned his new position. Collette Kubiesa: Pass the Pasta Sauce Initially when I meet with legislators, I just go in there and let them know who I am. It's just to break through. Then, I keep in touch with them and their staffs. We invite our four state legislators to everything we do at the Elmhurst Park District, and they are on our mailing lists. You have to treat legislators with respect. But you can't be afraid of them. Remember, they are people just like your neighbors next door. And we all represent the same constituents. When I visit, I'm not always asking for something. I keep in contact by phone or drop by and I always try to leave the staff something that says Elmhurst Park District on it - a key chain or something like that. I can my own spaghetti sauce. So I bring that in May when things get really hectic for them: I can tell the staff, "Hey, here's dinner for tonight." They appreciate it. Those things help you get in the office a little easier next time. Remember, you can help the legislators, too. Right now I'm helping Representative Carole Pankau put together a picnic for her constituents in one of our parks. It's a win-win situation.
July/August 2003 | 31 |
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