Mayor Jim Sexton Pens Final Farewell To Residents

Following is Mayor Jim Sexton's farewell to residents as 20 years as mayor of Evergreen Park.

My Friends,

On the evening of Monday, May 17, Kelly Burke will take the oath of office as Mayor of Evergreen Park, along with Village Clerk Cathy Aparo, Trustees Norman Anderson, Carol Kyle and Mark Phelan.

With that, I will leave the office after over twenty years as your Mayor.

Prior to that, I had served as Village Clerk, Trustee, along with tenures as director of the Youth, Police and Fire Commissions, totaling over thirty-five years working for you, our wonderful Evergreen Park residents.

There is no way that I can ever make you realize how deeply that I appreciate all of your support over the years, even more so when I was recuperating after my illness eight years ago. A politician can never be Everybody’s Friend. There are decisions that have to be made for which not everyone will agree or be happy. I hope that you understand that everything that our team has done has been with the best interests of this fine Village at its heart.

The accomplishments that this Village has made in the last twenty years would not be possible without the hard work of our Village Trustees, our Village Clerk Cathy Aparo, and all of our department heads and staff, who keep the Village running efficiently. Their hard work makes my job look very easy.

But it is not easy; and going forward, you have elected a strong leader in Kelly Burke. Mayor-elect Burke is already transitioning into this office, having had experience as Village Trustee, President of the Library Board, with a strong tie to the Village with her involvement in the community over the years. Kelly comes in knowing how the Village works as well as it does, and will bring new ideas to keep Evergreen Park the wonderful home that it is for 20,000 residents.

Thank you again for all you have done, and for all that you are. This is a community of good, hard-working people, and it is you, the residents. . . not the Village leaders. . that makes this Village great. I have made many friends over my tenure here. I am disappointed that I cannot walk the parade route one more time to greet you all. That was always a special moment for me, to see you away from the office and wave and say a kind word.

I have said before, this was the job of a lifetime and I have been blessed far more than I probably deserve.

I look forward to spending time with my family and friends, but beyond that, I am not going anywhere. You will still see me around; and “Jim” will be happy to see you and keep in touch.

In the meantime, please continue to keep safe. We are slowly approaching the end of some of the hardest days in recent years, and I pray that you keep your health so that you can greet each day, each sunrise, with the same love and appreciation that I do.

Very sincerely,
Mayor James Sexton