Elmwood Park Trustees, Village Clerk Resign

More political upheaval in Elmwood Park is brewing after two trustees and the village clerk submitted their resignations.

These recent situations come on the heels of a successful recall of former Village President Audrey Viau and the drama surrounding on the site of the old Kohl's at Lathrop and Durand Avenues.

Trustee Dave Cattoi submitted his resignation letter during the October Village Board meeting. 

He said he made the decision to resign during the course of the meeting because it didn't seem as though residents had any confidence in his ability to serve on the board.

"As I sit through this meeting I see the lack of confidence in my perfomance of my duties," Cattoi wrote. "It is my unfortunate decision to resign at the conclusion of this meeting and allow you to appoint someone who will be more in tune with the needs of the village communication."

Trustee Linda Kawa-Pelish submitted her letter on Monday.

"My other commitments have become too great for me to be able to fulfill the current and future requirements of my position on the Board," she wrote. "I feel it is best for me to step aside and make room for someone with the time and energy to devote to the job."

But Village President Tom Mills said Pelish's resignation is in a holding pattern right now until after a special board meeting called for Nov. 21.

"(She) is holding off so we can get a quorum," he said. "Then, after the meeting, we'll have to appoint someone to step in."

Nick Haas, a resident who is part of the Friends of the Village of Elmwood Park - the group that successfully organized protests against a Walmart Neighborhood Market moving into the village - said he submitted a letter of intent to fill Cattoi's seat on the board.

"The village needs people who are active in the community so I'm happy to step forward," he said.

Patch has not yet received callbacks from either Cattoi or Pelish for comment.

Village Clerk/Treasurer Veronica Rudychev also resigned Monday, giving a 30-day notice to Elmwood Park. That village contracts Rudychev's services out from Mount Pleasant where she is also the clerk/treasurer. In a note to Mount Pleasant trustees, she cited her expanding work load in Mount Pleasant as her primary reason for giving notice to Elmwood Park.

"Due to an expanding work load at the Village of Mount Pleasant (which is my primary responsibility) as well as personal reasons, I am hereby resigning and terminating the contract with Elmwood Park," she wrote.

With regard to Rudychev's resignation, Mills said he will address the vacancy at the next board meeting so trustees can talk about expanding the number of hours and the salary that might be associated with the position.

"We want the clerk to have more responsibility with some tasks that usually fall to committees, someone who has the financial and legal knowledge," he said. "We will require the new person to be certified, but the board needs to talk about these details before we move forward with an ad to fill the job."