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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE HONORABLE JOHN A. OSTENBURG FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE VILLAGE OF PARK FOREST
WHEREAS, John A. Ostenburg was first elected as Mayor of Park Forest, Illinois, in 1999 and was re-elected without opposition in 2003, re-elected in 2007, 2011 and 2015, and is the longest serving mayor in the history of the municipality; and
WHEREAS, John A. Ostenburg began his long history of service to the Park Forest community not long after moving there serving on the Board of Directors of the Birch Street Townhomes Cooperative since 1983 and is currently the Vice-President; and
WHEREAS, John's public service began in 1985 when he became a Trustee of Park Forest, serving from 1985 to 1990 and from 1997 to 1999, and between his terms as Trustee, John served as State Representative of the 80th House District from 1992 to 1995; and
WHEREAS, John made a significant impact on the Park Forest community and was instrumental in diversifying the Village Board, both in race and gender, through careful appointments to fill multiple Trustee vacancies including: Bonita Dillard, Mae Brandon and Georgia O'Neill; each of whom was elected several times by the Park Forest residents; and
WHEREAS, John's visionary approach resulted in numerous initiatives and successes for Park Forest including: Park Forest being an All-American City finalist in 2000 and 2006, being a Chicago Tribune Top 100 workplace in 2010, the implementation of the award-winning Park Forest Sustainability Plan in 2012, a 3-STAR designation in 2014 and the SolSmart "Gold" designation in 2015, and was the recipient of the Distinguished Budget Award and Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for more than 20 consecutive years; and
WHEREAS, John's leadership influence expanded far beyond the boundaries of Park Forest as he was heavily involved at the regional, state and federal levels, serving on various posts at the appointment of the Cook County Board President and the Ill...
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