The Township of Lyons welcomed new leadership as two trustees and a highway commissioner were sworn in alongside five returning officials following the April elections.
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon administered the oath of office during a well-attended township board meeting on May 19.
New to the board are trustees Miriam Cruz and Candice Mares.
Cruz, 31, of Summit, is single. She served two years on the Summit Public Library Board.
“I want to work with the community. … I feel Summit was overlooked. We want our voices heard,” Cruz said.
Cruz is a site coordinator for West40 at Morton East High School and the Morton Freshman Center.
Mares, 40, of Countryside, she served on the School District 105 Board of Education.
“Serving my community is the No. 1 way to give back. I loved the school board,” said Mares, who grew up in La Grange.
Mares is married and has three children and works as an administrative assistant for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 in Countryside.
The township’s new highway commissioner is familiar to those familiar with local politics.
McCook Mayor Terrance Carr replaces Sean McDermott, the mayor of Countryside, as township highway commissioner.
“I’m going to hit the ground running. They say they start at 6. … I’ll be there at 5:45 to make sure they’re there at 6,” Carr said.
Re-elected and sworn in were township supervisor Christopher Getty, trustees Mark Anderson and David Imielski, clerk Elyse Hoffenberg and assessor Patrick Hynes.
Hynes is hoping he is sworn in for another office next year as he is running for the office of Cook County Assessor.
To show appreciation, Getty presented plaques to McDermott and departing trustees Donna Baffoe McDonald and Colleen Kelly.
“They were faithfully serving the Township of Lyons for many years,” Getty said.
McDonald and Kelly “were always dedicated public servants. Attending meetings. Asking questions. And making sure township business got done,” Getty said.
Kelly, on the board since 2011, was the longest-serving trustee. Anderson is now the longest-serving trustee as Imielski was appointed last year.
McDermott “always made sure our roads were clear in bad weather” among his other duties with the highway department, Getty said.
After the meeting, Kelly said “I was driving to this meeting and thinking how long I was on this board. It’s been a long journey. Fourteen years.”
Kelly did not seek re-election because “I think it’s time for new faces, new ideas.”
She is “proud to see how far the township has come, particularly senior transportation. … And there are (still) residents who don’t know about it.”
She plans to dedicate her time to the American Legion in Worth as her son has enlisted in the Air Force.
McDonald left the building before she could be asked for comment.
Refreshments were served after the meeting.
