Buffalo Grove clerk marks 40th year in office

Buffalo Grove Village Clerk Janet Sirabian marked her 40th year in office last month with a special celebration outside the Jeffrey S. Braiman Council Chambers at the village hall.

"I have now been clerk for more than half my life, which is insane," Sirabian said after a village board meeting in which she performed the duties she has been handling for four decades - taking minutes, reading items from the agenda and tallying votes.

Village presidents and trustees have changed seats over the years, but her spot has remained constant.

Reflecting on her four decades as clerk, Sirabian said the two things of which she is most proud are the village's 50th anniversary celebration in 2008 and its annual Civics Forum.

Now she seems ready to take on another 40 years.

"I love government. I don't like politics, but I love government," she said.

Fortunately for her, she has been able to mostly avoid the political side of elected office, since she rarely faces a challenge. She has a theory about that.

"Not too many people want this job because there is no decision making in it," she said. "People say they go into government because they want to change things. Since this isn't a voting position, it's not something that people are banging down the doors to do."

The opportunity for Sirabian to become clerk opened when Verna Clayton left the position in 1979 to run for village president and no one chose to run to replace her.

"I have always been proud to say that I was a part of Buffalo Grove," she said.