22 Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency 



III. PUBLICITY FOR PARK BOARD AFFAIRS 



The administration of park affairs has not had in the past 

 the degree of pubhcity that is desirable. A strong argument for 

 consoHdation of the Park Boards, with concentration of admin- 

 istrative functions at the City Hall, is that it would tend to 

 bring park matters more into the public eye. Neither newspaper 

 reporters nor representatives of citizen organizations find it so 

 easy to follow matters affecting the parks under separate Boards, 

 meeting in scattered places, as they would if there were centraliza- 

 tion. 



It has been a frequent practice in the past for the Lincoln 

 Park Commissioners and the South Park Commissioners to hold 

 board meetings in private offices downtown, without public notice 

 as to time or place of meeting. All meetings should be held at 

 the Board offices and should be open to the public, unless there 

 should be a special reason for going into executive session upon 

 a particular matter. The same rule should apply to committee 

 meetings, where important matters may be considered by com- 

 mittees. The West Park Board holds open meetings, but the 

 important business is transacted first in secret sessions of the 

 joint committees on finance and maintenance, comprising all the 

 members of the Board. The proceedings in the open Board con- 

 stitute merely the formal ratification of what has been agreed 

 upon in secret session. On one occasion, when this joint com- 

 mittee was considering a franchise grant to the Chicago Railways 

 Company, a representative of the company was admitted, but 

 others were excluded. 



The West Park Commissioners are the only park body in 

 Chicago that publish the minutes of proceedings. The cost of such 

 publication is not large in comparison with the benefit to the 

 public. The South Park Board and the Lincoln Park Board 

 ought to publish their proceedings in printed form. 



The procedure of all the Boards in passing ordinances is 

 open to criticism. Often ordinances are passed the day of their 

 introduction. The practice should be to print and postpone final 

 consideration until the succeeding meeting. 



