Hanover Park Trustee Ed Zimel resigns from village board
Hanover Park Village Trustee Ed Zimel announced his resignation from the village board Thursday night.
Zimel said he decided to resign for personal reasons and that he had been planning to resign later this year.
"The end of the year was originally the goal, but things may have progressed careerwise, and I may even move out of town by the end of November," Zimel said.
Zimel's announcement comes after the Daily Herald's Kerry Lester reported in her Sept. 7 "Suburban Rundown" column that officials were questioning whether Zimel was living in Hanover Park, a requirement to serve on the village board.
Zimel acknowledged he didn't rent or own property in the village at the time but said he was living with family and friends.
He sent the Daily Herald copies of a driver's license, issued in early September, and a pay stub a few days after he was first asked about his residency.
Both listed an address on Waterfall Lane in Hanover Park.
At the time, Village President Rod Craig said he never saw Zimel's car at the address where he said he was living.
But Thursday, Zimel said he is living in Hanover Park at the moment but could be moving out of the village by the end of the year for personal reasons.
"I still live in town currently," he said. "The decision was solely personal, and I'm likely moving forward from Hanover Park at this point."
Despite announcing his resignation, which will take effect Oct. 31, Zimel says he will always consider Hanover Park his second home.
He said that after being first elected to the board in 2009, he's grown close to several of the members.
"We grew to know each other so well that it was family," Zimel said. "Even though we have a difference of opinions sometimes at the board level, we never took it home with us. It ended there."
Before announcing his resignation, Zimel thanked the village board, Village Manager Juliana Maller and the fire and police chiefs.
Despite running on the same Progress Party slate in 2009, Zimel and Craig hadn't seen eye-to-eye in recent years and disagreed on several key votes.
Craig thanked Zimel for his service at the end of Thursday's board meeting.
"He's doing the right thing," Craig said earlier in the week. "I don't like to look backward, I like to look forward."
It's now up to Craig to appoint a new trustee, whom the board will need to approve.
He says he wants to fill the open spot as soon as possible and that he will likely choose someone well before the end of the year.
"I'm going to be proactive about this and find someone with a high level of character and integrity," he said.