Hanover Park mayor's wife loses her job

In the end, all the pleas to save the "face of Hanover Park" proved futile.

The village board Thursday voted 4-2 to eliminate the collector job held for more than two decades by Village Clerk Sherry Craig.

"Politics has reared its ugly head," said Craig, Mayor Rodney Craig's wife. "I still feel this was a purely vindictive move."

One by one, residents implored the board to reconsider the motion made by Trustee Lori Kaiser, who cited a need to free up money for the police department.

Kevin Swan said that in Craig, he felt there was someone looking out for him when he moved his business into Hanover Park five years ago.

Patricia Langenstrauss credited Craig for launching the new chamber of commerce.

Veterinarian Arlene Rodriguez said she never would have opened her animal care center in town if not for Craig.

"Because of Sherry … and her vision as to what Hanover Park should be and will be, I decided I'm going to stay here and contribute," Rodriguez said. "She is the face of Hanover Park."

But the dozen or so character testimonies couldn't sway trustees.

Trustee Wes Eby said the collector job is obsolete as a result of changes in the finance department, which will absorb Craig's duties efApril 30.

"I hated this. Sherry has the greatest integrity of anyone I know," Eby said. "But we're making changes that have to be made. There's no way around it."

Craig asked the board to hold off until her term as village clerk expires next year. She gave up her career nearly 23 years ago at former Mayor Sonya Crawshaw's urging, saying she was told the clerk and collector jobs were one in the same.

Trustee Joseph Nicolosi agreed that Craig ran for clerk with that very expectation, and voted against eliminating the position.

The other dissenter was Trustee Toni Carter, who once again expressed her disgust with her peers. She called the board's action a retaliatory firing and questioned why the cost-cutting measure wasn't discussed at previous budget retreats.

"A lot of game-playing is going on and it needs to stop," Carter said to a chorus of cheers.

Craig, who earns about $55,000 annually as collector, said she's enjoyed working with everyone but doesn't know if she'll stay on as clerk, which pays $5,000.

The police department estimates $105,000 is needed to hire a single officer.