Beth Augustine enjoys being a village trustee in La Grange, but she does not want to overstay her welcome.
Unlike many elected officials, she will not wait until a month or so before the election to anoint her successor.
She did not take a page from U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia, who hand-selected his successor, who is now running for a four-year term, or U.S. Rep. Bill Lipinski, who tapped his son, Dan, to complete his term in Congress with little chance for others to seek the office.
Augustine recently announced during a village board meeting—nearly a year before next spring’s election—that she will not seek a third term. She also will not step down early or tap a replacement to complete her term.
“It’s a fairly common practice,” Augustine, 56, said, wrinkling her nose. “That doesn’t feel right to me. I knew I wasn’t running. Why keep it to myself?”
During a wide-ranging interview at Blueberry Hill, a popular breakfast-and-lunch restaurant across the street from La Grange Village Hall, Augustine discussed her decision and her eight years as a trustee.
“I’ve enjoyed it, still enjoy it. I have the next number of months to finish out my term,” she said. “I’m in my second term. I never wanted to run for office in the first place, even though it’s in my bones.”
Her mother, Nancy Kenney, was a village trustee from 1986 to 1991.
“Seeing her as a trustee—as a teen I wasn’t paying too much attention—but I saw her as a resident and business owner in the community,” Augustine said.
Her mother helped bring successful businesses to downtown La Grange, including Palmer Place, a mainstay with its two-level beer garden. Residents also played a big role in the revitalization, Augustine said.
“I remember her going to meetings and talking about what they were doing,” she said.
Augustine and her husband, Chris, formerly lived in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village before relocating to La Grange. Their son, C.J., is 14.
She joined the Citizens Council of La Grange, which dates back to the 1940s and serves as a sounding board to find candidates qualified for office.
“I did that for six years—the first four as a member, the last two as chair—understanding what these roles mean,” she said. “We tried to educate the membership and voters. We were always looking for people to run for office.”
Eight years ago, she decided to run for trustee and won the first of her two terms in 2019. In a way, she was destined: her great-great-great-great grandfather was Franklin Dwight Cossitt, the village’s founder. She’s the fifth family member to serve on the board.
A hot topic this year was the board’s decision to approve a new condo building to replace the structure that had housed Jackson Square Mall. Augustine will miss shopping there, but noted the building “was allowed to decay for 100 years.” Renovating would have been quite costly, she said.
“I didn’t want the antique mall to go,” Augustine said. “It’s pretty from the front. Nothing else about the building is pretty. It’s horribly blighted.”
Looking back, she’s proud to have been a “mover and shaker” in bringing Classic Cinema to the La Grange Theatre. The recently expanded complex has been a driving force for downtown’s economy, as many visitors combine a movie with dinner and shopping.
“They had looked at coming to La Grange a couple of times,” she said.
“Between the theater and the parking garage behind village hall, we would have never had this growth and vibrancy,” Augustine said.
She’s been pushing for parking solutions, noting that opening a 24-space teacher’s parking lot between Harris and Cossitt during non-school hours has helped address downtown parking shortages.
She also appreciates the diversity of restaurant options available downtown.
Residents text, call, send emails, and stop her on the street to discuss issues. She will miss that.
“I’m happy to inform anyone who cares enough to ask, and really, who is probably going to tell a couple of people,” Augustine said.
“We may disagree and we have to argue, but by the time we get to the board meeting, we’re generally in the same place,” she said.
She regrets that the trustees—unlike many communities—do not have a committee-of-the-whole meeting. In many towns, that’s where things are hammered out.
“That’s what we need, and it’s helpful for residents who show up to see that conversation,” she said.
She has noticed more residents attending board meetings, a positive trend.
“I look at things differently. I’m not a CPA or an MBA,” said Augustine, who ran unopposed twice.
That’s another reason for her early announcement: she wants to see other residents seek elected office.
She suggests attending plan commission and zoning board meetings for anyone interested in becoming a village trustee. It’s a way to learn more about the village, she said.
“Most recently, for the last three years, I’ve been trying to get a housing commission,” she said.
That commission, composed of residents from all walks of life, is up and running and will report its findings to the village board in summer 2027.