Latest news with #SusanBuchanan
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Oak Park trustee Susan Buchanan once targeted by InfoWars resigns, citing burnout
Susan Buchanan, a leading advocate of climate action and sustainability, has resigned from the Oak Park Village Board, leaving the board with a vacancy until a replacement is appointed. Buchanan unexpectedly resigned her position on the Village Board on May 9 with two years left on her term, saying she was burned out and no longer had the bandwidth to serve. The recent death of her two parents within seven months brought things to a head, and she felt that she no longer could serve. 'I think I was kind of burned out for the whole last year,' Buchanan said in a telephone interview. 'Just feeling less interested. The leaf ban was an especially annoying time and I got to the point of sending my siblings copies of the angry letters I would get just for the entertainment value because it all seemed so silly.' Last year the Village Board voted to require Oak Park homeowners residents to bag their leaves instead of just raking their leaves into the street as they had been accustomed to doing. The change was controversial and generated strong opposition. Buchanan said she got tired of dealing with the vitriolic emails that came to her and other board members on that and a host of other issues. She got her first and perhaps worse taste of that vitriol in the fall of 2019, less than six months into her first term on the Village Board. Buchanan received threats that caused her and her family to leave their home for a couple days after she had what she described in retrospect as a 'hissy fit' when she told two white male Village Board members, Deno Andrews and Dan Moroney, to 'shut up' when they asked for the term 'systems of oppression' to be clarified during a discussion of the village's diversity statement. Despite apologizing for the comment after the meeting, her 'shut up' comment went viral when a video of her comment was posted on Infowars, the website hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. That was a difficult time but did not dissuade Buchanan from running for reelection in 2023. After finishing first in a field of 11 candidates in 2019 Buchanan finished third in a five candidate field in 2023, but was reelected. Other issues, such as the debate over how to handle the migrant crisis and the Village Board's refusal to adopt a resolution calling for a cease fire in the Gaza War, also generated a stream of angry emails that wore Buchanan down. 'We would get these waves of template emails where one particular activist group would write a template email and we would get dozens of the exact same email,' Buchanan said. Buchanan, a physician and a professor for UI Health, was known for her advocacy for sustainability and climate issues and for stronger police oversight. She was proud of her role in passing the village's climate action plan. And she said that was proud of getting a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic removed from the village's Board of Health. Looking back Buchanan said that she just gradually lost her zest for the job. 'I can't really explain it,' Buchanan said. 'I'm not sure why I went from finding it really stimulating and exciting to go to meetings to actually not wanting to go to meetings or do the prep work that was required.' At the May 13 Village Board meeting, the first meeting since Buchanan resigned, current board members who served with Buchanan praised her. 'She was a great mentor and always championed the right causes,' said Trustee Chibuike Enyia. Trustee Cory Wesley said Buchanan will be missed. 'She's been a great ally on this board table — even when we disagree, and she's always given me a different view and perspective on a number of different things,' Wesley said. 'I'll miss having her here to talk things through and also a lot of those jokes that don't make it on the microphone.' Recently reelected Village President Vicki Scaman also praised Buchanan, who endorsed her in the recent village president election. 'Susan pushed us outside of our comfort zone in the right direction on several topics,' Scaman said, highlighting Buchanan's advocacy on sustainability and police reform. 'She really reminded us, at every opportunity, our obligation, from her perspective, to move forward, to make progress on those things that were, as she perceived them, most important. Scaman has 60 days to appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining two years of Buchanan's term and then the Village Board has 30 days to approve Scaman's nominee. Because Buchanan's resignation came as a surprise, Scaman is just beginning to think about how to go about finding a replacement. Scaman said that she has not yet decided whether to have a formal application process to fill the vacancy as she did in 2022 when then board member Arti Walker-Peddakotia resigned from the board, but is leaning against it. In 2022 Scaman ended up appointing Wesley who had finished fourth in 2019 village board election, just 51 votes behind Walker-Peddakotia. Such a process is not required by law. In the April election, Lucia Robinson, who was running for a second term on the board, finished fourth receiving 5,116 votes but finished 1,099 votes behind third place finisher Jim Taglia. 'She's definitely somebody that I have enjoyed working with immensely,' Scaman said, adding that Robinson was a hard worker and came to every board meeting very prepared. But Scaman said that she will consider a variety of factors and is not yet focused on anyone in particular because she has been processing Buchanan's departure from the board. Scaman said she will be looking for someone who cares about the same issues as Buchanan did, but she will also look at the skill set of those currently on the board and think about what the board needs in terms of skills, perspectives and representation. 'I'm starting with a bit of a listening tour with my colleagues,' Scaman said. Scaman said that she would prefer to make her appointment fairly quickly, noting that the board is about to begin a goal setting process. 'If at all possible I would want to land on a decision much sooner than the 60 days,' Scaman said.
Axios
05-03-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Washington appears to dodge deep NOAA cuts
Federal workforce cuts at NOAA and the National Weather Service are raising emergency preparedness concerns, but Washington so far doesn't appear to have seen the level of cuts in other states, a state climate official said. Why it matters: The climate and weather agency provides essential services, including detailed forecasts for industries like shipping, ski resorts and water supply management. It also issues warnings to protect life and property during natural disasters. Driving the news: State climatologist Guillaume Mauger told Axios this week that one probationary employee at the National Weather Service in Seattle was cut, as was an employee at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the USDA agency responsible for measuring snowpack. Per the Seattle Times, NOAA lost at least three employees in Washington, including one of two people responsible for information security at the Office of Response and Restoration. OPB reported the cut of a NOAA natural resource specialist who had been dedicated to protecting whales. National Weather Service spokesperson Susan Buchanan declined to share Washington-specific job cuts with Axios. The big picture: NOAA employs about 12,000 people, with more than 700 based in Washington, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said in an emailed statement. Last week, roughly 800 probationary employees at NOAA and its various divisions, including the National Weather Service, were laid off nationally. Following the announcement, some offices said they would need to cut back on services, such as public communications and daily weather balloon launches, due to staffing shortages. Reality check: Mauger said it's too early to say whether Washington will ultimately avoid the more severe staffing reductions seen in other states, including Oregon.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NOAA layoffs impacting National Weather Services workers in Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — Hundreds of weather forecasters were fired in the latest wave of nationwide DOGE cuts on Thursday. The Associated Press reports that the cuts account for about 10% of NOAA's workforce. AP is also reporting job cuts with 375 probationary employees in the National Weather Service nationwide. We can't confirm the number of firings at offices in Norman or Tulsa. The National Weather Service sent News 4 a statement: We are not discussing internal personnel and management matters. NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation's environmental and economic resilience. Susan Buchanan, NWS Public Affairs 'No transparency': Oklahoma's federal lawmakers mostly quiet amid federal layoffs Gayland Kitch is the Director of Emergency Management for the City of Moore. 'Much of the data, almost all of the data, the observations, the balloon launches, the radars all come from our National Weather Service,' Kitch said. You may be wondering what's next as severe weather season approaches. Kitch said he can't speak on the federal layoffs because he doesn't yet know the effects it will have. Norman's new mayor-elect, Stephen Holman, addressed the layoffs on social media. 'Reducing staffing at such a vital institution could have serious consequences for public safety and disaster preparedness,' Holman said 'It's highly important that we all work together,' Kitch said. 'We all have a piece of the puzzle and the bottom line is to make sure that the people who are in our cities and towns and our communities are safe.' The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management also sent News 4 a statement about the layoffs: Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management works very closely with our partners at the National Weather Service and we rely heavily on their expertise and the services they provide. Oklahoma is covered by four National Weather Service Forecast Offices across the state from the panhandle down to McCurtain County in southeast Oklahoma, so we could certainly see impacts from changes to those offices as well as to the National Weather Center and the Tulsa River Forecast Center. We are closely monitoring this issue for further information on the specifics of those impacts. Keli Cain, OEM Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
