A-Z Of Your Municipal Government

Village of Evergreen Park

 Q: What is the Village form of government?

A: In Villages, the Trustees are the legislative body. There are six Trustees. They are generally elected at large and the number does not vary with the size of the municipality. The Village President (Mayor) and Clerk are elected at large, but the Treasurer is appointed.

Q: Is the Village a Home Rule municipality, and what is Home Rule?

A: All Illinois municipalities with a population of at least 25,000 are automatically Home Rule. The Village of Evergreen Park lost that status when the 1980 census decreased the population to less than 25,000. In 1982, the Village regained Home Rule status by passing a referendum. Home Rule grants power to local governments to act autonomously, although they are still subject to any restrictions within the Federal Constitution, and even certain specific state statutes. Under Home Rule, a municipality may pass ordinances regulating building, zoning and other matters of public health safety, morals and welfare, and have broader powers of taxation.

Q: How many political parties exist in the Village?

A: There is no limit to how parties file for a local election. Each party must file the necessary nominating petitions to form a new party, complying with the election law requirements of 5% of the total votes cast in the last Consolidated Election.

Example: 10,000 votes cast = 500 signatures required on petitions.

Independent candidates may also file for an individual office to be elected, by filing nominating petitions with not less than 5% nor more than 8% of the total votes cast in the last Consolidated Election.

Q: When are elections held?

A: Local elections (Consolidated Elections) are conducted every other year, generally the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April.

Offices other than municipal are also elected in the Consolidated Elections, as follows: Township - Supervisor, Clerk, Assessor, Highway Commissioner, Collector and Trustees.

Public Library - Board of Trustees

Q: What are the elected offices in the Village form of government?

A: Mayor, Clerk, and six (6) trustees, elected at large throughout the Village. Election is held every two years and offices and staggered to ensure continuity form of government. The Mayor, Clerk and three Trustees are elected, and two years later, the other three Trustees are elected. Each of the elected offices is a four-year term.

Q: What are the qualifications for election of the officers of the Village?

A: To qualify to be elected, an individual must be a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector (registered to vote) and must have lived within the corporate limits of the Village at least one (1) year.

Q: What are the duties of each elected officer?

A: The Mayor (or Village President) is the Chief Administrative Officer who presides over all regular and special meetings of the Board of Trustees. The Mayor only casts a vote when a tie vote of the Board of Trustees must be broken, and he has the power to veto all ordinances or motions that involve expenditure of funds. The Mayor is Chairman protem of all appointed Boards and Commissions, and he/she supervises all appointed officers and department heads, including the Chiefs of Police and Fire. The Mayor is responsible to see that the laws and ordinances are faithfully enforced. The Mayor also serves as Liquor Commissioner.

The Clerk attends all meetings of the Board of Trustees and is the keeper of all official Village records, ordinances, resolutions, proclamations and minutes of all Board and Committee Meetings; and he/she prepares notices of all public meetings. The Clerk is responsible for voter registration and serves as the Local Election Authority. The Clerk keeps and affixes the corporate seal of the Village and conducts general administrative duties. The Clerk also serves as the Village Collector, responsible for collections of all revenues.

Trustees are the legislative body, controlling the expenditures and approving budgetary appropriations and the tax levy. The Board of Trustees participates in all regular and special village meetings, passing ordinances and resolutions that provide the laws that govern the Village. They approve departmental procedures and set administrative policies. Each member of the Board of Trustees serves as Chairman of one committee and member of two additional committees, which meet on call by the Chairman of the Committee. The Board of Trustee Committees are: 

Public Safety
Public Works
Zoning and Development
Finance
Property, Laws and Ordinances
Youth, Recreation and Senior Citizens

Q: How often do the Mayor and Board of Trustees meet?

A: Regular Board Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of each month (Tuesday, if Monday is a holiday) beginning at 7:30pm in the second floor Village Hall Council Chambers, 9418 S. Kedzie Avenue. Up to 30 minutes is allotted for public participation at each meeting.

Special Meetings may be held at any time on call by the Mayor or any two (2) or more Trustees.

The Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1 et seq.) requires that most meetings of public bodies be open to the public and notices of all meetings be posted or published to keep the public informed. A schedule of regular board and committee meetings is posted in the Village Hall annually, and notices of specially called meetings are posted and sent to all local press.

Q: What are the sources of Revenue used to run the Village?

A: Real Estate Property Taxes; State Income Tax; Retail Sales Tax; Motor Fuel Tax; Personal Property Replacement Tax; Real Estate Transfer Tax; Gasoline Tax; Leasing Tax; Telecommunications Tax; Business Licenses; Sales of Vehicle Stickers; Animal Licenses; Birth and Death Certificates. Inspection or service fees are used to cover the cost of inspections or specific services rendered.

Q: What are the appointed officers and department heads?

A: Treasurer, Attorney, Prosecutor, Engineer, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Director of Public Works, Deputy Director of Public Works (Sewer and Water), Deputy Director of Public Works (Streets), Street Department Foreman, Building Commissioner, Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, Director of Citizens Services, Recreation Department Director, Youth Department Director, Health Inspector, License Inspector, Alley Inspector, Animal Control Officer, Public Information Officer, Community Center Coordinator, Police Department Chaplain, Fire Department Chaplain, Health Officer, Deputy Clerk, Registrar and Water Collector.

Q: What Boards and Commissions exist?

A: Environmental Commission, Fire and Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, Park Board, Police Pension Fund Board, Traffic Safety Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Most of the Boards and Commissions are fact-finding entities and report directly to the Mayor and Board of Trustrees.

Q: Are there other elected Boards within the Village?

A: Yes:  School Districts - Elementary School District #124 and High School District #231 have their own elected School Boards, file their own tax levies and receive their own portion of the real estate taxes. School Boards do not report to the Village Authorities. They are elected in the Non-Partisan elections, conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April, every other year.

Library - The Library Board of Trustees is elected directly by the residents. Their budgets and the monies used to operate the Library are received from the General Corporate Fund of the Village Government. They do not file a separate tax levy nor collect a separate share of real estate taxes. The Library Board does not report to the Village authorities on policies or procedures.

Q: Who are the current elected officials of the Village?

A: Mayor: Kelly Burke

Village Clerk: Catherine T. Aparo

Trustees: Norman Anderson, Carol Kyle, Mark Marzullo, James A. McQuillan, Mark Phelan, Jeannie Olson.

Q: What other elected officials serve the Village?

A: Effective November, 2016, they are: Federal: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth

U.S. Representative Bobby Rush, 1st Cong. District

County: Cook County Board of Commissioners

Township: Worth Township Supervisor and Board of Trustees.