The worst of the Palos Park Public Library’s financial troubles appear to be over.
In January, there was a concern the library would have to shut its doors for an undetermined amount of time.
Library officials were counting on receiving tax money from Cook County on Dec. 15 and when that didn’t come through, they were getting short on money and closing the library down was an option.
The village council voted Jan. 26 to provide a short-term loan of $130,000 to keep the library open even though some commissioners were concerned about it.
Library Director Jessica Rock gave an update at the May 11 village council meeting and said that the financial situation is better, even though the county has not paid the library all of the tax money, yet.
“Delayed payments were received in January and went through April but the payment still hasn’t been paid in full,” Rock said. “The library repaid the loan to the village in March and put back three months of revenue into its reserves.”
The intergovernmental loan helped out considerably, she said.
“In late 2025, the library identified delays in expected tax levy distributions, resulting in short-term cash flow disruption,” she said. “No levy payments were received between May and December, 2025.
“That created an extended period of financial strain that required immediate corrective actions. To sustain operations during this period, the library liquidated $110,000 investments and requested an intergovernmental loan from the village.”
Even with the loan, there were temporary adjustments that had to be made. Staff, program and public services were reduced.
“These actions were taken to preserve financial stability while continuing core services,” Rock said.
To prevent coming up short if there is another tax delay Rock said the library is revisiting and refreshing its strategic plan.
It plans to build reserves to sustain future hardships independently.
It wants to launch fundraising efforts to provide independent alternative revenue sources.
The library will also evaluate and assess staffing and service needs.
And it wants to develop a long-range capital plan for its future.
“The library responded responsibly and transparently to unprecedented levy delays while maintaining essential services,” Rock said. “Continued collaboration with the village and long-range financial planning will be critical to restoring stability, strengthening resilience and position the library for future success.”