Trustee Vorderer Hopes to Connect with District 4 through July 11 Meeting

Terry Vorderer has done nothing but serve his community and his country all his life.

At the age of 18, six months after graduating from Brother Rice High School, he was flown off to war in Vietnam. When returned from combat, he was back on the streets of Oak Lawn, uncertain where to go with the rest of his life. God willed him to open up a newspaper, he says, which is where he saw the ad that changed his life. “WANTED: Police officers.”

Since his retirement after 35 years with the Oak Lawn Police Department, Vorderer hasn’t stopped serving. Now, two months into his term as an Oak Lawn trustee, he is holding his first meeting with his Dist. 4 constituents on July 11. He says he hopes to serve his constituents as best he can too.

“Part of the reason I want the meeting is I want to hear people’s opinions,” Vorderer says. “I really believe people’s perception is the reality, whether it’s based in fact or not. It’s important to set the record straight and to hear their concerns.”

Vorderer plans to discuss any issues residents feel are relevant, but this meeting will particularly focus on the plans for the expansion of Advocate Christ Medical Center. Representatives from Advocate Christ will be at the meeting to answer questions and deliver a presentation on the next steps in the hospital’s expansion.

“I think that most of the residents I talk to are supportive of the hospital but feel the hospital needs to contribute its fair share of the cost to the taxpayer of having such a world-class institution in its boundaries,” Vorderer says.

Advocate Christ Medical Center is in its second phase of construction of a 7-story inpatient tower facing Kostner Avenue. Another tower and pavilion serving outpatients is nearing completion.

The expansion will enable the hospital to serve more patients, Vorderer said.

“I feel Christ Hospital is a great asset to the village of Oak Lawn,” Vorderer says, “But Christ Hospital brings with it additional issues for the fourth district, my district.

“The hospital’s not the only issue in my district, and I don’t want it to be the only issue, but at the current time, it is the primary issue for Dist. 4.”

Dist. 4 residents and other community members interested in learning more about Advocate Christ 's expansion plans, are invited to attend Tr. Terry Vorderer's community meeting at 7:30 p.m. July 11, at the Oak Lawn Park District Administration Building at 9400 S. Kenton Avenue.