Committees filling up in Palos Park

Melinda Simon (from left), Nancy Miller and Alyson Sternquist were appointed to various committees in Palos Park on Aug. 14.

By Jeff Vorva

After announcing a long list of appointments for committees, Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters was happy.

There were several vacant spots on various committees and after the smoke cleared at an Aug. 14 village council meeting, the mayor said there are just a few spots still unfilled on the Beautification Committee and the Fine Art Committee.

“It’s very encouraging and exciting for the future of the village,” she said. “The residents are participating in what’s going to happen and change.”

Steve Desmond was named to the Police Pension Board with a term to expire May 23, 2025.

Michael Chrostek was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals while Allyson Sternquist and Jay Vincent were named to the Plan Commission. All three will serve through June 1, 2028.

Melinda Simon will serve on the Recreation Advisory Committee while Melissa Gierach and Sabrina Szubart will be on the Beautification Committee through June 1, 2026.

Christine Pillado will serve on the Historic Preservation Committee while Nancy Miller and Marcelina Wawrzyniak are on the Tree Body Committee through June 1, 2027.

Milovich-Walters said the village took a new approach to getting people to fill these positions.

“For years, it’s always been word of mouth,” she said. “We would go and talk to people we knew. This time we blasted through social media and we made sure it was in our e-news. We tried to reach a new demographic of people that way.

“And it worked. I was very, very pleased with the response and they weren’t all people that I knew. That was very encouraging. That meant there were other people out there that I hadn’t met yet that saw the post or read the e-news and decided they wanted to get involved in their town.”

The first-year mayor also helped create a Newcomers Ad Hoc Welcoming Committee. Appointed to that committee were Kristen Bauer, Emily Hampston, Sue Hennessy, Laurie Mead, Kelly Oliven, Meg Poore, Leslie Wade and Larry Wisowaty.