‘He had a defined vision’: Over 38 years, Roger Byrne helped shape Vernon Hills into a complete village

He left the Southwest Side for Vernon Hills nearly half a century ago but Roger Byrne didn't lose his unmistakable dialect or attitude while creating a legacy of public service in his adopted home.

During his 38 continuous years in office, mostly as village president, Vernon Hills evolved to a retail and dining leader in Lake County; a center for business and recreation; and, with a variety of high-end housing options, a place where residents don’t have to move out to move up.

Vernon Hills never has had a local property tax and likely never will. Its financial status is rock solid, in part because developers have been made to pay their way, observers say.

But for the first time since 1987, Bryne is off the village board and no longer will be directly involved in deciding how the village looks, operates or what it offers residents and visitors.

Certainly, the evolution of Vernon Hills wasn’t the work of a single person. But as top elected official, Bryne has been a constant, always pushing for new, better and more to help shape a complete community during an unparalleled period of growth and transformation.

“He had a defined vision of what Vernon Hills needed to become a true village,” said David Brown, hired as village engineer in 1993 as development was accelerating.

Brown, who later was promoted to public works director before retiring in 2023, grew up in Marquette, Michigan.

“I really didn’t understand South Side personalities growing up in the Upper Peninsula but I learned who he really was,” Brown said. “He made you accountable.”

Opinions vary and Byrne’s sometimes brusque style wasn’t for everyone. But supporters say his actions invariably were in pursuit of the greater good.

“Civil service, not politics was so much a part of who he is,” says his daughter, Erin Byrne McElroy. “The reason he got involved and stayed involved is because he cared.”

Byrne grew up in Hometown, which borders Chicago at 87th Street a few miles from Midway airport. Elected trustee in 1987 and president in 1993, he has spent half his life on the Vernon Hills village board.

Now for the first time since his initial election victory, Byrne no longer is an insider.

Tuesday's “sine die” meeting, a formality before the newly elected mayor and three trustees are sworn in, will be Byrne's last. Sine die means “without a day” in Latin and denotes the work of a governing body has concluded permanently.

Byrne didn't retire but in April ran for trustee rather than mayor because of physical limitations due to illness and finished out of the running. He was stricken with Guillain-Barre Syndrome on Feb. 4, 2022, and has endured a series of complications and setbacks that left him on oxygen and unable to walk.

While his command of facts, recollection and drive to lead remain strong, Byrne has been unable to attend most meetings the past three years in person but has been participating remotely.

Byrne, 75, said he wasn't healthy enough to run a “real campaign” but accepted the outcome philosophically.

“It turned out nice,” he said of where the village stands today. “I had a great experience.”

During his tenure, Byrne showed many sides, sometimes during a single meeting. He could be mercurial or thoughtful, sympathetic or skeptical, sentimental or detached, welcoming or harsh, jocular or serious.

“He was very much committed to finding out what was true and sometimes that wasn’t a pleasant conversation,” said Larry Nakrin, who retired in 2016 after 31 years as finance director. Protecting the fiscal health of the village was Byrne's guiding principal, he added.

“He was really trying to do everything to make sure he wasn't being sold a bill of goods,” Nakrin added. “He made a lot of key decisions that kept us in good fiscal stead.”

Be it a CEO of a national company or others, Byrne was unswayed by the perceived power or importance of those appearing before the village board.

“He felt like the village was a special place and he wasn't afraid to challenge prevailing institutions or beliefs to advance the village,” Nakrin said.

The huge annexation and subsequent development of the upscale Gregg’s Landing neighborhood, creation of the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex and getting a high school built are among the milestones of Byrne’s tenure. The Aspen Drive Library, senior living facilities and a post office are among several other accomplishments.

Byrne and his wife, Kathy, moved to Vernon Hills in 1977. She was teaching fourth grade in North Chicago and he worked downtown in the insurance business. Hawthorn Mall had recently opened but a good part of the community was cornfields.

“Vernon Hills was like another country,” Byrne recalled on a local cable show 10 years ago.

Many in his neighborhood on Marimac Lane, west of Deerpath Drive and north of Route 45, had drainage issues. So he asked the village to resolve them.

“It was an involved process. I went to a lot of meetings,” he said. Improperly installed infrastructure became the platform for a slate of candidates he assembled to run for village board in 1985.

Two of the three were elected but Byrne fell short. One of his running mates was Pam Newton, who went on to serve on the Lake County Board before becoming the chief operating officer in Hawthorn Woods.

“We needed quality builders and quality infrastructure,” said Newton, who is from downstate Belleville and supported Byrne for trustee in 1987. “We had two different styles for sure but we both grew up in a generation of service. Roger definitely loves people and he has a servant’s heart.”

When the late Barb Williams did not run for reelection as mayor in 1993, Byrne stepped into the role he has served since.

“People planning with pride. We certainly did that,” Byrne said, quoting the village motto. “I guess you make what you make out of it and do the best you can.”

A plan to honor Byrne's legacy is in the works.