Former state Rep. Froehlich retires to Panama

You can call him Panama Paul now, but you'll be calling long-distance.

Former 56th District state Rep. Paul Froehlich and his wife Marilyn — herself a former Schaumburg Township District Library trustee — have sold their Schaumburg home and retired to Panama.

The couple have temporarily moved into a condominium while awaiting completion of their new home in a small development catering to American and Canadian expatriates, according to friend and former Schaumburg trustee Pat Riley.

At six hours, the drive from the airport to their new home is slightly longer than the five-and-a-half-hour flight from Chicago, where the Froehlichs still have family and friends.

But the conversion of a military airport to civilian use will soon cut the land portion of that journey to two hours, Riley said.

Before being the 56th District's previous Democrat representative, Froehlich was its Republican representative. He also served as Schaumburg Township's Republican committeeman, Schaumburg Township assessor and on the Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 school board.