Editing Sauk Village, Illinois (section)

==Politics==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2012}}
The village's first mayor, then referred to as Village President, was Thomas J. Nichols, who was elected in 1957, when the village was incorporated. Nichols served two terms from 1957 to 1965. He was succeeded by Roger F. Theisen in 1965. During the Theisen administration, the village saw the largest expansion of its geographical boundaries and the largest growth in housing as a result of the baby-boomers moving from the larger urban centers to the more rural Sauk Village. Theisen continued the "bedroom community" character of the community. Theisen had the Village Board change the title of Village President to Mayor but continuing the Village Board system of government. Theisen appointed Theodore "Ted" Theodore as his Executive Assistant, effectively what is now the Village Manager's position. Theodore would serve in that capacity through the next administration.

The village's third mayor, Edward W. Paesel was elected in April 1977, beating out long-time incumbent Roger Theisen. Paesel was a school teacher at the time of his election. During Paesel's time in office the village experienced some growth but still experienced the difficulties of the economic downturn as many blue collar jobs left the area. It wasn't until the late 1980s that some of the largest developments came about. DSI on Torrence Avenue, the expansion of [[Roadway Express]] and Carolina Freight, two very successful Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, and Pacesetter Steel were all attributed to the vision of Edward Paesel. An ambitious project spearheaded by Paesel which did not come about was the GM-Saturn automobile plant, proposed for the northwest corner of the Calumet Expressway and Sauk Trail. Saturn officials opted for an alternate location. Since leaving office Paesel has served on the Third Regional Airport Clearinghouse and now serves as executive director of the South Suburban Mayor and Managers Association<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_78c36e6a-f20e-5cbe-97ae-ef4dde0a74b9.html|title=In brief|date=December 7, 1999 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233739/http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_78c36e6a-f20e-5cbe-97ae-ef4dde0a74b9.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> and served a brief period in 2006 as District 168 Board Member. Paesel has remained one of the staunchest advocates for Sauk Village since he was first elected to the Village Board in 1973.

Mark Collins, an iron worker, who was Mayor Paesel's "preferred candidate", won election as a part-time mayor after beating out his one-time ally and colleague trustee Richard Derosier and a crowded field of candidates in April 1989. On April 4, 1989, many Chicago media outlets descended on Sauk Village to cover the election of Joseph Wiszowaty, a high school student who was elected to the Village Board of Trustees, and became the youngest man elected in the state of Illinois. Wiszowaty ran on a "change" platform and would in fact bring that change to the Village Board. Wiszowaty would find himself voting against the administration on many issues during his term in office. Wiszowaty made a presentation to the owners of the [[Chicago Bears]] to build a new stadium on the property that was proposed for the GM-Saturn plant, after securing economic commitment to expand the Enterprise Zone from the administration of [[Chicago Heights, Illinois|Chicago Heights]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_dfedf4bb-e7b8-57e2-9db5-062012c15fad.html|title=Village trustee wants Bears stadium in Sauk Village|first=Larry|last=Galicia|date=December 5, 1990 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509225434/http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_dfedf4bb-e7b8-57e2-9db5-062012c15fad.html|archive-date=May 9, 2012}}</ref> The Bears declined the proposal and opted to stay in Chicago with commitments for a newer more modern stadium. Collins, Wiszowaty and the Board were sworn on May 9, 1989. During Collins' first term as mayor, new housing construction began again after a many-year hiatus. Many of the day-to-day activities that were handled by the mayor were now being handled by the village manager. Wiszowaty served his term from 1989 to 1993, when he challenged incumbent mayor Mark Collins but lost in a three-way race. Wiszowaty was born and raised in Sauk Village and would have been the youngest mayor Sauk Village ever elected had he succeeded. A petition to have Wiszowaty run again for the village board was circulated in 1995 by supporters, which likely would have led to another run for mayor in 1997, but Wiszowaty chose not to seek election to his old seat on the board.

Collins survived his re-election bid for a second term as mayor in April 1993, beating out trustee Joseph Wiszowaty and another candidate, again with the same core of supporters that brought him to office in 1989. In September 1994 the administration was under intense scrutiny over the [[Community Development Block Grant]] (CDBG) program. Allegations included contractors doing shoddy work and allowing massive cost overruns on projects, and the village's hiring of unbonded and unlicensed contractors. In December 1994, citing "serious questions" relating to the village's handling of a program to refurbish single-family homes, Cook County suspended the release of grant money to the village for new projects. Shortly afterward, the Cook County State's Attorney began an investigation into the mishandling of the CDBG program and several other blunders by the Collins administration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_71c7e3fa-fe18-5de0-bf40-2b08eb6b1259.html|title=State's attorney to review village's CDBG spending|first=Randy|last=Richardson|date=May 28, 1995 |publisher=nwitimes.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509225450/http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_71c7e3fa-fe18-5de0-bf40-2b08eb6b1259.html|archive-date=May 9, 2012}}</ref> This would cause supporters of Collins to look for an alternative candidate in 1997.
 
On April 1, 1997,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_6669b6d3-e2ef-5080-a83b-be0ed1775d09.html|title=New faces abound on local boards|first=Larry|last=Galicia|date=April 3, 1997 |publisher=nwitimes.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233620/http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_6669b6d3-e2ef-5080-a83b-be0ed1775d09.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> Collins was defeated by Roger Peckham,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_7c6fcc9d-e9e2-5e7f-8e61-7f19ce6e93e6.html|title=Three vie for mayor's position in Sauk|first=Larry|last=Galicia|date=March 29, 1997 |publisher=nwitimes.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233629/http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/article_7c6fcc9d-e9e2-5e7f-8e61-7f19ce6e93e6.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> his own appointee to the Village Board. Peckham during the 1997 election accused the administration, when it came to dealing with new developments, of jumping at opportunities rather than considering serious planning. Peckham, who was serving as Village Trustee, said that the mayor would not communicate with the Board of Trustees on important matters. Peckham had two very close challenges in the 2001 and in 2005 elections. 2005 saw one of the closest mayoral elections in the village's history, in which Peckham survived with only a 43-vote victory against trustee David Hanks.

Peckham announced in 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/article_2d061c74-c61c-5d2f-a830-6d72ee6143fa.html|title=Sauk Village mayor says he's ready to move on|first=Joan|last=Carreon|date=August 3, 2008 |publisher=nwitimes.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233640/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/article_2d061c74-c61c-5d2f-a830-6d72ee6143fa.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> that he would not seek a fourth term, stating, "The community has moved along during my term." But Peckham also said he had hoped for more economic, retail and housing development in the village. Lewis Tower would win election as Sauk Village's sixth mayor by a 2 to 1 majority over Village Trustee Derrick Burgess in April 2009 and has become the first African-American to serve as mayor.

November 7, 2012, residents of Sauk Village were stunned to hear via email that embattled Mayor Lewis Towers resigned. Towers is the first and only mayor to have resigned the office of Mayor. Towers had been at political odds with the Village Board as the village was stuck in "gridlock". On November 8, 2012, the Village Board of Trustees selected David Hanks as acting mayor to serve out the remainder of Lewis Towers' unexpired term until May 2013. Hanks announced during a press conference he would not seek election as mayor and that he would return to his seat on the Village Board of Trustees as soon as the new mayor takes the oath of office. Hanks then filed to be a candidate for Mayor in December 2012. On April 9, 2013, Hanks won election with 46% of the vote in a 4-way race.<ref name="nwitimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/incumbents-remain-in-sauk-village/article_9c8b6d07-0bfb-5f35-b4ec-544fce0473b8.html|title=Incumbents remain in Sauk Village|first=Bob|last=Moulesong|date=April 9, 2013 |publisher=nwitimes.com.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230131731/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/incumbents-remain-in-sauk-village/article_9c8b6d07-0bfb-5f35-b4ec-544fce0473b8.html|archive-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>

The village hired a Village Manager in 1988. At the time outgoing mayor Edward Paesel said that there was nobody at [[Village hall|Village Hall]] with the experience necessary to run the administrative functions, and the village's mayor's position had been made part-time. Richard Dieterich was hired and continues today as Village Manager. Dieterich relocated to Sauk Village from [[Nebraska]]. To date, Dieterich has served under three mayors and numerous trustees, and has provided 20 years of leadership and continuity to Sauk Village to date.

A changing of the guard was said to have taken place in April 1985 when incumbent Village Clerk Agnes Theodore was beaten out at the polls after many years as Village Clerk by Nancy L. McConathy. Theodore, whose husband was the Executive Assistant to the mayor, refused to leave her position, and McConathy filed suit against the mayor, Village Board of Trustees and Agnes Theodore to force Theodore to leave her elected position. Theodore claimed she was not only an elected official but also an employee of the village and the administration did nothing to support McConathy's contention. On April 5, 1986, McConathy collapsed at the village's annual Appreciation Dinner and died just short of serving a full year in office. McConathy's lawsuit brought prior to her death was settled by McConathy's estate some time later, without the village admitting any liability. Prior to her election as Village Clerk, Nancy L. McConathy served as a library trustee. The Sauk Village Library District changed the name of the library's district to the Nancy L. McConathy Public Library District in her honor.

It was "All in the Family" from 1981 until 1983 when Raymond Gavin, who would actually go on to serve as one of the longest serving village trustees (elected to five terms but would resign before the end), and his son David Gavin served on the Village Board together. This has been the only time that a father and son has served on the Village Board together. A father and daughter have served on the Village Board, but not together. Mary Seery (née Slawnikowski) 1993-2005 did not seek re-election to the Village Board in 2005, and that made way for her father James Slawnikowski, who went on to serve one term.

Raymond Gavin (1967–1986) served the longest consecutive time in office as Village Trustee (19 years), and Robert Werner (1971–1987) and Matthew M. Murphy (1957–1973) served as Village Trustees for 16 years in office, all three longer than any mayor of the village. The three men served on the board together from 1971 to 1973. However, the longest serving elected official in Sauk Village history is Agnes Theodore, who served 25 years as Village Clerk from 1960 to 1985. Honors were given to Robert Werner as the baseball park on the north end of the Village were dedicated to his name. Mathew Murphy received a street named in his honor on the east side of town. However, no honors have yet been given to Raymond Gavin, the longest serving Village Trustee.

Harriet Kaminski (née Wiszowaty) made history in 1965, becoming the first woman to become a Village Trustee. She was followed by Alberta Goe (1965–1966), Catherine Moretti (1967–1968), and several other women. Sauk Village currently has two women serving as Village Trustees.

In 2009, Sauk Village elected its first African-American mayor, Lewis Towers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/article_3b38b3dc-79dc-52d4-b98b-2f300c22c4d3.html|title=Sauk Village swears in its first black president|first=Bob|last=Moulesong|date=May 14, 2009 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233530/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/article_3b38b3dc-79dc-52d4-b98b-2f300c22c4d3.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> whose slate of candidates under the party banner Citizens for Progress would take office on May 12. After taking office, Towers and the new Village Board found that Sauk Village was facing its worst economic crisis in history with a $2 million budget deficit<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/article_0f2af883-9a1a-5471-be2a-a0baa21e81a1.html | title=Sauk Village OKs bond issuance | first=Bob | last=Moulesong| date=January 14, 2010 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515233751/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/article_0f2af883-9a1a-5471-be2a-a0baa21e81a1.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> to plug and no funds in the coffers left over by the previous administration. The new administration saw some shake-ups as well with previous administrative appointees Police Chief Thomas Lachetta and Fire Chief Christopher Sewell retiring and resigning respectively.

Further shakeups in 2010 included Mayor Towers' appointee as Chief of Police Frank Martin, who had the shortest tenure as Police Chief in village history (five months). The Village Board voted 4 to 2 to fire Martin following claims of racial discrimination. Martin, at age 75, the first African-American appointed Police Chief, was accused by several white police officers of mismanagement and holding officers to a higher standard than himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://southtownstar.com/news/2322756,052710sauk.article |title=Sauk Village trustees fire police chief |website=The SouthtownStar |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530090550/http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2322756,052710sauk.article |archive-date=May 30, 2010 }}</ref> Also allegedly fired because of the shakeup was the Mayor's Chief of Staff Burnetta Hill-Corely.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} The Chief of Staff position replaced the Village Manager when Towers was sworn in during 2009.

Mayor Towers sees that times ahead will still be challenging but are "looking up".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/article_677e5df8-7a23-50df-9db6-973bf6c140d2.html|title=Village water, public safety tops in 2010|first=Bob |last=Moulesong |date=January 10, 2010 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515235243/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/article_677e5df8-7a23-50df-9db6-973bf6c140d2.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> While the economic recession has hit Sauk Village hard in 2009, the village has managed to work through the challenges.

Between 1990 and 2010 the demographic makeup of Sauk Village has changed from a predominantly white blue collar middle class community to a more racially integrated community. Numerous industrial construction projects which had hoped to bring jobs to the area had been halted in 2008 as one of the worst economic recessions began.

Mayor Derrick Burgess, before his election as Mayor in April 2017 proposed the Burgess Plan for Progress which was what he called the "roadmap toward a Pathway to Progress". The Village Board of Trustees formally adopted his plan as the Strategic Plan for Progress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saukvillage.org/PDF/2017/2017_Strategic_Plan_for_Progress_Board%20Adopted.pdf|access-date=August 3, 2023|title=Sauk Village - A Strategic Plan for Progress|date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> This was the Village's first Strategic Plan ever adopted by a Village Board. In 2017, the Village applied for and received a grant from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to update their old Comprehensive Plan. Teska and Associates was chosen as the consultant for the plan which was completed in 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited  |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/467560119939767/1982172851811812 |archive-date = April 30, 2022| url = https://www.facebook.com/BurgessForSaukVillage/posts/1982172851811812 |title = Derrick Burgess - Mayor of Sauk Village on Facebook  |website=[[Facebook]]}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref>