Four new trustees will join the Evanston Public Library Board on Monday, June 22, after the City Council votes to fill seats left empty by a wave of departures that has hobbled the board's ability to govern.

Three trustees whose terms had expired departed, and two more resigned at the board's Thursday, June 18 meeting. Departing members described their relationship with city government as "hostile" and "unresolved" in departure messages, Evanston Now reported. The exits left the board without a president.

The board had been searching for a permanent executive director since Yolande Wilburn's departure in February. It approved a request for proposals for a search firm at a special meeting on Friday, May 29. That search now falls to a reconstituted board whose members have yet to be named publicly.

Ald. Shawn Iles (3rd Ward), who is associated with the appointment action, said the move is "not intended to erode independence," according to Evanston Now's Friday, June 19 report. The names of the four nominees have not been publicly confirmed.

The new trustees will also inherit fiscal pressure. The library board reported at its June 18 meeting that $600,000 in property taxes levied for 2024 has not been received. Separately, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle warned in early June that second-installment 2026 tax bills will go out in early September, roughly two months late. County officials could not guarantee even that timeline at a June County Board hearing.

Last year's second-installment bills, originally due August 1, 2025, were pushed to December 15, 2025, after problems with the county's new tax computer system.

The Council meets Monday, June 22.