Village Honors Jim Holland At Last Meeting As Mayor

FRANKFORT, IL — After 16 years as mayor of Frankfort, Mayor Jim Holland marked his last board meeting as mayor on Monday. Holland had announced in 2020 that he would not seek re-election for mayor, after over 20 years in public office.

"This is my last regular meeting of the Frankfort Village Board as your mayor," Holland said, noting that it was also the last meeting for village clerk Brian Feehery and village trustee John Clavio.

Holland thanked both for their service in elected office, and said he hoped they would consider running for public office again in the future.

Holland congratulated incoming mayor Keith Ogle, incoming trustees Gene Savaria, Dan Rossi and Michael Leddin, and incoming village clerk Katie Schubert for winning their elections.

"I know our newly elected representatives, and they will serve our community well," Holland said.

Holland also thanked the employees of the village for serving the residents and making his job "much more rewarding."

"I have represented the people of Frankfort for 22 years, six as trustee and 16 as mayor," Holland said. "I hope that the residents who lived here more than 22 years ago, and the residents who have moved here since then, find that life in Frankfort continues to get better."

Holland said he and his wife, Stacy, will continue to live in Frankfort and support the community.

"I will cherish the memories that I have of my time as mayor," he said.

Frankfort Police Chief John Burica thanked Holland for his leadership, support and guidance throughout his time as mayor and trustee.

"You've always been a great advocate for the police department and the community safety," Burica said.

Village Administrator Rob Piscia said he echoed what Burica said.

"I just want to personally thank you for your great leadership in all these years," Piscia said, adding that Holland's "fingerprint" is on the community.

All the present village trustees and the village clerk shared words of thanks to Holland as well as his wife Stacy.

"You've been such a great influence on my life, you appointing me as clerk has been one of the great[est] joys that I've ever had," Village Clerk Brian Feehery said.

"Thank you for all that you have done for Frankfort," Trustee Jessica Petrow said.

"I wouldn't be sitting here without you. You encouraged me to get on the planning commission, you encouraged me to put in for the clerk position, and that ultimately led to my role as trustee," Trustee Gene Savaria said.

"You've been a tremendous mentor, and I really appreciate all the times you've spoken with me, one-on-one or in meetings, to guide me as well as our other colleagues," Trustee Margaret Farina said. "I will miss that."

"I want to thank you for what you've done for Frankfort...you're turning over Frankfort to us as a new group, and we're going to make sure that we take good care of it. Not only to honor you, and what you've done, but to honor our residents as well," Trustee Keith Ogle said.

"You lead by example, you make people want to get involved, you make people want to volunteer," Trustee Adam Borelli said.

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