After 40 years of dedicated service, Rudy Mulderink is stepping down as city clerk of Palos Hills, leaving behind a legacy shaped by grit, reform, and an unmistakable sense of perspective.
“I wasn’t just city clerk,” he said. “I’m a father, I’m a grandfather, I’m a husband. I’m a lot of things to a lot of people. That was just one aspect of my life.”
Mulderink’s long career in local government began in 1979, when he served on the city’s plan commission. At the time, he didn’t expect to stay involved in politics for long. But when a neighbor invited him into a new political group, something clicked. The first election didn’t go well — only the incumbents won — but Mulderink wasn’t ready to walk away.
“I said I’m not gonna do this with people who are losers,” he recalled. “So, I put together a coalition from that party and the other party that was in, and we ran a complete slate in 1981 — and swept in. Everybody, mayor on down.”
Mulderink personally backed a young candidate named Gerald Bennett for mayor. “He was the best interview,” Mulderink said. “He was the youngest mayor we ever had.”
Together, they inherited a city government in disarray.
“There was nothing in the office. They cleaned out the whole place,” Mulderink said. “We started from scratch. Literally nothing.”
At the time, computers weren’t yet standard. “I didn’t have a computer in my office until ’92,” he said. “When I graduated law school in ’84, I was still writing my briefs on a typewriter.”
Despite daunting beginnings, Mulderink and Bennett worked side by side to overhaul city operations, rebuild trust, and reestablish a functioning system.
“Everything was won by one, and Bennett really instituted everything,” Mulderink said. “We had to change over the entire system. It was a cow path flood zone when we came in. The whole city government prior to us was on the take.”
In the years that followed, Mulderink remained a central figure in nearly every aspect of Palos Hills’ growth — from land acquisitions to legal negotiations and zoning decisions.
“We acquired the golf course. We acquired 17 acres that turned out to be a garbage dump. We still can’t use that,” he said with a laugh. “The prior administration had plans to put a pool there — you couldn’t put a pool there!”
City Hall evolved too, both physically and institutionally. “Everything has been fixed. What’s there has been corrected,” he said. “The city clerk’s position has never had a problem. Everything’s run like clockwork.”
He’s seen the work from every angle — through real estate law, labor negotiations, development deals, and community controversies. “I have the overall perspective of everything,” he said. “Because I’ve seen it from day one and been through it from day one.”
And yes, he has stories. There was the time his daughter Julie played mayor during a youth government meeting, only for it to be derailed by a local agitator.
“(He) came in and blew up the meeting,” Mulderink recalled. “Bennett didn’t know what to do. I told them, ‘Get him out of the meeting.’”
There were old allies and rivals, unsung workers and tough decisions. He remembered a longtime city employee who once opposed his political group but stayed on after the transition.
“She came in the night we won the election and hung on to her job for a long time,” he said. “When she was sick, I helped her get her will and her house in order.”
Over time, the people changed — some stayed, some passed on, some learned. The city matured. “Even City Hall has evolved,” he said. “And now, it’s in good shape.”
As he steps away, Mulderink offers no dramatic speeches or demands for recognition. His advice for his successor is as straightforward as his style.
“I would tell her to come in and sit down, leave everything alone, and just follow what’s laid out,” he said. “It’s functioning perfectly.”
At 82, Mulderink made the decision to retire largely because of his health. “My last couple of years have been rough,” he said. He’s undergone surgeries for colon cancer, prostate cancer, lung collapse, heart conditions, and now lives with stage four emphysema.
Still, he counts himself lucky — especially when it comes to family. His daughter Jill, a top labor attorney, has been his advocate and caregiver. His other daughter Julie, who has seven children, flew in to help during his most recent recovery. And last September, he became a great-grandfather for the first time.
“My daughter is my angel,” he said. “She guides me through.”
He’s not one for fanfare. He’s seen city employees come and go, and helped many of them quietly. His memories go back to the earliest days of City Hall — and to the people who mentored him, like a man named Jim Gates who once asked questions at every meeting.
“He was like a historian. He knew everything that ever happened,” Mulderink said. “I’m Jim Gates now.”
When asked how he hopes to be remembered, he offered a simple answer.
“People don’t,” he said. “But that’s okay. I did what I was supposed to do.”
Former 5th Ward Alderman Dawn Nowak will take over as city clerk after running unopposed in the April 1 election.