Marshall Library Board Seeks Trustee After Member Leaves State

Marshall Library | September 9, 2026

Article Summary: The Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees discussed finding a replacement for trustee Steve Schofield, who has moved out of state, at its Sept. 9 meeting. Separately, the Marshall Area Public Library District — a different body — is also looking for a replacement for one of its trustees.

Library Trustee Vacancies Key Points:

• Director Alyson Thompson told the board a replacement needs to be found for trustee Steve Schofield, who recently moved out of state.
• No resignation was accepted, no vacancy was formally declared, and no appointment process or timeline appears in the record.
• The Marshall Area Public Library District, a separate body, discussed the need for a replacement for trustee Danielle Cline at its Aug. 25 meeting.
• The two boards are distinct units; the September minutes do not describe the relationship between them.

MARSHALL — The Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, took up the question of how to fill a seat left by a trustee who has moved out of state — one of two library trustee vacancies discussed at the 22-minute meeting.

Under the “Other” heading near the end of the agenda, Director Alyson Thompson “mentioned that a replacement needs to be found for Steve Schofield, who recently moved out of state,” according to the minutes. The minutes record that a specific individual was suggested as a possible candidate and that Thompson was asked to contact him to see whether he was interested. That person’s name has been withheld from this report; the record contains no indication that he has been approached or that he has expressed any interest in serving.

The record of the September meeting is otherwise thin on the vacancy. The opening attendance paragraph states only that “Steve Schofield has relocated.” No letter of resignation is recorded, no motion to accept a resignation or declare a vacancy was made, and the minutes do not say who appoints a replacement, on what timeline, or whether applications will be sought. No action item on the subject appeared on the posted agenda.

The minutes name seven trustees present at the meeting — President John Tarble and trustees Mike Cameron, Jody Green, Janet Hasten, Jenn Smitley, Melissa Strait and Herman Wallace — and record Devon Burkybile as absent. The documents do not state the board’s authorized membership.

A Second Board, a Second Opening

The library board also received a report from the Marshall Area Public Library District, which met Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the library. According to that report, the district “discussed the upcoming consolidated election and the need for a replacement for trustee Danielle Cline.”

The Marshall Area Public Library District is a separate unit of local government from the Marshall Public Library Board, with its own board and its own meeting schedule; the two appear in the September minutes as distinct bodies, with the district’s activity reported to the library board as a standing agenda item. Nothing in the materials describes how the two boards relate to one another, and the record does not say who delivered the district’s report or what prompted Cline’s replacement.

In Illinois, consolidated elections are generally held in the spring of odd-numbered years and fill seats on local boards, including library, park and school districts. The September materials do not state the date of the election the district discussed, and no filing dates, petition deadlines or candidate information appear anywhere in the record.

The district is scheduled to meet again Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m. The library board meets Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.