Chicago Public Library Head Resigns Amid Ongoing Dispute Over Layoffs, Hours (VIDEO)

The woman at the helm of the Chicago Public Library system for the past 18 years has resigned from her post in the midst of ongoing disputes over staff layoffs and reduced branch library hours.

Mary Dempsey, it was announced Wednesday, will be replaced in March by Brian Bannon, the chief information officer for San Francisco's public library system, the Chicago Tribune reports. She submitted her official letter of resignation in October.

Despite the controversy surrounding Mayor Rahm Emanuel's reduction in library funding that spurred the system's recently reduced hours and staffing, Dempsey has not publicly criticized the mayor as part of her announcement, as she told the Tribune "it was the right time" for her to resign from her post.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Fran Spielman, however, describes that Dempsey, who vastly expanded the library system's reach across Chicago's neighborhoods with the help of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, "met her match in Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was more concerned about cutting spending than he was about preserving library services."

The city's library system, the Sun-Times notes, was initially "singled out" for 50 percent of city layoffs, despite only accounting for three percent of the city's overally spending. Ultimately, the mayor stepped back the cutbacks, but library staffing has still been cut significantly.

The abrupt closing of the city's branch libraries on Mondays earlier this month was met with scorn from many of the city's residents, causing the mayor to announce that the branches would be opened Monday afternoons beginning Feb. 6 thanks to some $2 million in re-allocated city funding, WBEZ reported.

As Fox Chicago reports, however, library employees and their supporters have continued to push for the city's libraries to be re-opened all day on Mondays and for laid-off workers to be reinstated.

Library supporters held "People’s Library Hours" rallies outside three closed neighborhood branches on Monday morning, when the AFSCME, the union representing city library workers, renewed their call for the system to return to a 48-hour work week. As Progress Illinois reports, the union has filed a grievance with the Chicago Public Library over their contention that they weren't consulted regarding the Monday closings.

Protesters at the Little Village branch, who described the libraries as providing "vital services for communities" that have been endangered by the funding reductions chanted, according to WBEZ, "Mayor Emanuel, listen up! Please don't make theses awful cuts!"

Meanwhile, Bannon said CPL was "a national leader in educational media for teens" and said he was looking forward to building on that foundation.

Photo by quinn.anya via Flickr.

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Comments

[FRUSTRATED60]

02:28 PM on 01/26/2012

Emmanual has flown in like a buzzard and has gotten rid of everybody who was here when he came.
All his "heads" are from out of state and there are no WOMEN. Hey Rahm what's up with that?

[speedydan79]

02:32 AM on 01/26/2012

A so-called world class city needs a world class library system that is open all day and during the evening hours. That Emanuel would cut back on libraries out of all the services in the city is very revealing. Better to cut back elsewhere--maybe on all those planters that are all over the north side, for example, if the budget is really that bad.

[elizabethlee]

01:11 AM on 01/26/2012

Oh, emanuel, our not so illustrous mayor, you have so many obstacles on your plate. You would think that you top list agenda for this beautiful city would be to meet the gangbangers, since we are in the headlines everyday about the shootings and the cop killers, instead of the libraries.

We know and we know that you know you were sent here to protect the democratic stronghold for the white house and you being just another "yes man". You were my senator for years before you were tapped by the white house to be chief of staff and you did nothing for this city as senator except to expose your short temper to your constituents at your cornerstone meetings.

You did the right thing, Mary Dempsey, by resigning before they dragged your name through the mud

Chicago politics at it's finest moment....more of the same bullshit.

[FRUSTRATED60]

02:37 PM on 01/26/2012

I agree with most of your statement except his being sent here by the White House to protect democrats.
If you remember, months before Richie resigned, Rahm said that if he (Richie) resigned he
would run for mayor. Richie resigned Rahm ran WITH NO OPPOSITION. Rahm is saving
the city for Richie and his mob not the white house.
But hopefully they remember that they sent Rob in to "keep the city/state safe" and he got overwhelmed by the power of being governor.
Rahm appears to bwe on his way to "Power corrupts absolutely "

[bitsy79]

08:48 PM on 01/25/2012

This is what happens when a republican's in office. Emanuel is shameful. It's quite unfortunate that so many uninformed voters elected him mayor.

[Romano54]

08:56 PM on 01/25/2012

170k in a city of 2.9m? Hardly qualifies as "so many". He does need to declare himself as jumping parties.

[bitsy79]

09:00 PM on 01/25/2012

Thanks, Romano54! I guess I mean "so many" as in enough to screw the rest of us who knew better! :-)

[elizabethlee]

01:46 AM on 01/26/2012

Bitsy. am I reading your post right? Surely you jest,

A republican mayor in office in Chicago?

Emanual is a democrat sent by the white house, former chief of staff, to stronghold the democratic party our city where obama has a home in hyde park, which I might add that obama's close friend, cellini afforded obama this home for a song, $300, 000 under the asking price.

Emanuel is shameful and he was shameful as a senator in the fifth district.

[bitsy79]

11:27 PM on 01/26/2012

He moved the party to the right, He's a triangulatin' little Wall St. viper. Obama is considered left of center at best, but in some instances, he's been right of center. Emanuel's a democrat in name only. So was Daley. They're all for privatizing the commons, and they're anti-union. How people think Emanuel's a progressive liberal is beyond me.