Des Plaines mourns death of 'icon'

Long time observers of Des Plaines city council meetings say things have not been the same since former Alderman Thomas Koplos served.

Mr. Koplos represented the 1st Ward, which included downtown Des Plaines, from 1969-1981, when the city council had 16 aldermen and often resembled a Wild West show on Monday nights.

Mr. Koplos passed away on Friday. The lifelong Des Plaines resident was 78.

Koplos chose not to run for re-election in 1981, but former Mayor John Seitz brought him back temporarily in 1986-87 to fill a vacancy after Alderman Jim Kolinski passed away in office.

“He (Koplos) had strong opinions and he was not hesitant to speak out,” Seitz said Tuesday, “and very often he was right.

“Tommy was knowledgeable about the city,” Seitz added. “He brought a lot of insight.”

Mr. Koplos was born in Des Plaines, where his father farmed land that would later would become part of the 1st Ward.

“Tommy was an icon in Des Plaines,” says former Des Plaines Alderman Nick Chiropolos, who served both terms with Mr. Koplos. “He spent his whole life here; he knew Des Plaines inside and out.”

Both men served on the city's engineering committee and advised staff members on everything from sewer and roadwork to flooding prevention.

“We were hit hard by flooding a couple of times,” Chiropolos recalls, “and with the river there in his ward, Tommy was at the forefront of finding remedies for the flooding, and some accountability.”

Chiropolos described Mr. Koplos as a senior member of the city council, who held firm on budget discussions and fiscal responsibility. In his later years on the board he embraced the downtown redevelopment.

“He was outspoken, but he wasn't afraid to make a decision,” Chiropolos said. “He stuck to his guns and I always respected him for that.”

Mr. Koplos never married but is survived by his siblings Angela (the late Nicholas) Katinas, Bess (Louis) Poulos and Nicholas (Joan) Koplos, and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 1401 Wagner Road in Glenview.