Hurckes Resigns from Village Board

Trustee Jerry Hurckes, who has served on the Oak Lawn Village Board since 1999, said he is resigning from his position as board trustee effective at the end of this month.

The 1st District village board trustee submitted his letter of resignation to the mayor on Tuesday. Hurckes’ last village board meeting will be Aug. 9, with his resignation officially taking effect Aug. 31.

Hurckes cited time demands as one of his reasons for leaving the village board. He resigned as chief of staff of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) in 2009 when he ran for mayor of Oak Lawn. Hurckes got his old job back when Lipinski asked him to return in June.

He also said that he did not want the congressional office to be “in the middle of difficult village votes, or the village in the middle of difficult congressional decisions.”

“It has nothing to do with Dan Lipinski when I sit on the village board,” Hurckes said. “No matter how I vote, someone is not going to like it, so there is no reason from someone to take it out on the congressman.”

Hurckes will run Lipinski’s Washington, D.C., and Chicago operations.

“There are 200,000 in the district who have never voted for (Lipinski),” Hurckes said. “I will be concentrating a lot on building a grass-roots organization (in the new areas).”

Hurckes ran unopposed and was re-elected to his third term as the 1st District village board trustee in April.

“The congressman hadn’t talked to me yet so I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue,” he said. “But people told me I was doing a great job so I continued on.”

In his letter, Hurckes said, “I am very honored and privileged to have been able to serve the residents of the 1st District as well as the entire Village of Oak Lawn, and whether you agreed with my views or disagreed I hope you realize I had the best of intentions for the residents and Village of Oak Lawn.”

A new trustee will be appointed by the mayor to serve out the rest of Hurckes’ term through 2013. The village board must also approve the mayor’s appointment.

Hurckes said four people in the 1st District that are interested in the job have already contacted him.

He said in his letter to the mayor and other village officials that he would assist the person chosen to take his place on the board of trustees with whatever he or she needs.