Longtime Palatine resident tapped to fill councilman's term

Palatine Councilman Dan Varroney's successor will be one of his closest confidants.

Jim Clegg, a Northrop Grumman executive who served on the District 3 advisory council for 21 years, has been appointed to fill the remaining year-and-a-half in Varroney's term. He will be sworn in Jan. 4.

"Jim was a close adviser of mine from the get-go on taxes and the economic growth in Palatine," Varroney said. "He has an excellent corporate background in planning and budgeting, and I relied on him to give me good feedback on a number issues."

Varroney relocated to Washington, D.C., to take a job with American Solutions for Winning the Future. His September resignation from the council was subject to the sale of his still-unsold Palatine home, but Varroney said work requires him to be out East full-time.

Clegg, 62, gets both Varroney's and Mayor Jim Schwantz's full endorsement. Schwantz's appointment of Clegg was unanimously approved by the council on Monday.

"Jim has a very good feel for the processes we go through," Schwantz said. "He seemed on top of all the issues we asked him about."

Clegg, a 27-year resident of Palatine, served on the zoning board of appeals from 1993-95. In addition to his involvement in several civic groups, he and his wife, Phyllis, have co-chaired the Relay For Life of Palatine/Rolling Meadows/Inverness the past two years. The couple became involved in the American Cancer Society after their son, Christopher, died of cancer. They have two other children.

Clegg, who went through two rounds of interviews, was one of five applicants. He works at Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows as director of business development for Air Force and Navy automatic test equipment and said he intends to run in the April 2011 election after the seat's term expires.

"I love this village and what it stands for," Clegg said. "I want to see Palatine maintain its tax rate and services while encouraging more retail businesses and increasing the tax base."