In latest change on long-tenured board, Elk Grove Trustee Pat Feichter resigns
Longtime Elk Grove Village Trustee Pat Feichter has stepped down from the village board as he prepares to make a long-contemplated move to Florida.
Feichter's departure represents more turnover on the elected panel long known for its streak of continuity in the Northwest suburbs.
With the advice and consent of the remaining village trustees, Mayor Craig Johnson said he plans to nominate someone to fill the remainder of Feichter's term, which expires in April 2025.
Feichter's announcement comes about a month before local elections, when at least one newcomer to the board is assured; another veteran trustee, Sam Lissner, decided not to run again.
"We went from one of the most senior boards from top to bottom in the entire region to one of the newest boards," said Johnson, who has been mayor for 26 years and served as a trustee for four years before that.
Johnson said Wednesday he doesn't have a timeline for making an appointment, and that it would likely be after the upcoming election.
The mayor added he was "caught off guard" by Feichter's resignation letter Monday but thanked him during a board meeting Tuesday night for his dedication to the community.
"It's a lot of years to take away from your family to give to Elk Grove," Johnson said.
First appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in August 1996, Feichter is the second-longest-serving trustee after Lissner, who was elected in April 1995.
"Serving as a village trustee for 27 years has been an absolute honor," said Feichter, who wasn't at the meeting Tuesday but released a statement. "I have genuinely enjoyed making a difference in the lives of those who live, work and visit Elk Grove Village. I am grateful to have contributed in making the village the exceptional community it is today."
He said he and his wife, Anne, have been exploring the option of moving to Florida for quite some time, and they decided to retire to focus on his health and family.
Feichter, who was a longtime political science teacher at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, was appointed to Elk Grove's plan commission in 1989 during a busy time of growth in the village. After the death of longtime Trustee Ronald Chernick, Feichter was selected to fill his seat on the village board, and went on to be elected to six consecutive 4-year terms.
As chair of the village's recycling and waste committee, Feichter spearheaded a paint and motor oil recycling event and often encouraged residents to recycle during his village board meeting reports.
An avid cyclist, he was a liaison to the Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove Village, and worked to extend pedestrian paths throughout town. A task force on which he served released a village bicycle plan in 2021.
Feichter has been a major booster of the Community Character Coalition of Elk Grove, which holds annual celebration and recognition events involving local youth.
He also was the village's representative on the Meet Chicago Northwest regional tourism board.
In 2018, Feichter led the effort to ink a friendship agreement with Pernik, Bulgaria, in an effort to share ideas and promote intercultural understanding. He took two trips there to meet governmental leaders, visit historical sites and attend a cultural festival.
And in 2021, Feichter was the lone "no" vote when the board approved recreational marijuana sales in town.
"I could easily say yes, let's go along with how the vote went and vote yes for it, but I felt there was something really special about Elk Grove Village and what we do," Feichter said at the time. "But I had to vote no on it because it was a moral commitment on my part, and that is something I had to stand for."