Basement was only spot OK'd for voting

I'm writing in response to the Oct. 27 letter in which a voter complained about the Schaumburg Township District Library's early voting facilities. Early voting took place in the basement, rather than the more attractive areas of the library, for several valid reasons.

In order to offer early voting, the library had to be approved by the Cook County Clerk's Office. Upon inspection, a representative of that office dismissed the upstairs meeting rooms because the voting machines need to be secured in an area with no public access when judges are not on site.

Using a meeting room would also mean taking it away from all other groups and programs for three weeks. These rooms are used for a variety of library programs, as well as by not-for-profit groups. Literacy classes, clubs, religious and civic groups and many others consistently use the library's meeting rooms.

More than 6,000 people came to the library for early voting, which sometimes meant long lines of people waiting their turn. Had people been waiting upstairs by the meeting rooms or other public areas, patrons trying to read, study or conduct business would have been disrupted for the entire three weeks.

Though the basement may not be beautiful, it met the Cook County Clerk's Office criteria and allowed us to offer early voting without disrupting our patrons. We were happy to provide this important service to our community.

Michael Madden, director

Schaumburg Township District Library