Mount Prospect honors outgoing Trustee Michael Zadel

The Mount Prospect Village Board honored one of its outgoing members by celebrating April 7 as Trustee Michael Zadel Day.

Zadel, who grew up in Mount Prospect and attended Prospect High School, is stepping down after 20 years as a village trustee. Last week, his fellow trustees recognized his two decades on the board with a formal proclamation that noted his advocacy for the village in Springfield and his civic involvement with the Mount Prospect Lions Club, including his work as chair of the BluesMobile Cruise Nights event.

Zadel's service to the village dates back to 1974, when he went to work for the public works department. He was promoted to forestry foreman in 1976.

He left in 1984 to take a job as superintendent of maintenance for Schaumburg, and later became roadway maintenance manager with the Illinois State Tollway Authority until his retirement in 2013.

But while no longer working for the village, Zadel found other ways to serve - as a member of the plan commission from 1997 through 2001, when he was elected trustee.

"There are a lot of people from this professional staff that really have always respected and appreciated how you approached the job," Village Manager Michael Cassady told Zadel. "And it's not an easy job. And you're frequently challenged with the worst of conditions. But you always came prepared and you always had our backs."

Zadel received a standing ovation from those gathered for the ceremony.

In delivering his thanks, he singled out his mentor, former Mayor Gerald "Skip" Farley, who "took me under his wing." He also mentioned former trustees Michaele Skowrom and Tim Corcoran, and thanked Mayor Arlene Juracek and his colleagues on the board.

"Your support and your dedication has provided us with a synergistic group that doesn't always see eye to eye, but come to consensus," said Zadel. "And that consensus, from my perspective, has always been the right thing for our village."

He also thanked staff, saying, "I've been around a lot of staff members who worked for public agencies. I can honestly say this is the best team I have ever seen put together, and I give a lot of that credit to our village manager, Mike Cassady."