Those we lost: Local leaders, former governors and a conservative activist among notable deaths of 2025

As we close out 2025, we remember the suburban natives and local leaders lost this year.

State officials, educators, public servants, coaches, and business and community leaders were among those whose passing made news in the suburbs. The murder of Arlington Heights native and conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September made headlines and stirred emotions across the nation.

Here is a chronological look at some local losses:

Ken Flores

Jan. 28: Comedian Ken Flores, a former Aurora resident, died at age 28 of congestive heart failure. A 2014 graduate of East Aurora High School, the Los Angeles-based entertainer had embarked on his “Butterfly Effect” national tour several weeks before he died.

Virginia McCaskey

Feb. 6: The owner and matriarch of the Chicago Bears, McCaskey died at the age of 102. The daughter of team founder, coach and NFL legend George S. Halas, she had been the principal owner of the team since his death on Oct. 31, 1983. A longtime Des Plaines resident, McCaskey had turned over daily operations to her sons but remained on the organization’s board of directors until her death.

Dan McCormick

Feb. 15: Dan McCormick, 90, a career public servant and former Libertyville police chief, died surrounded by family. He served as a Lake County sheriff's deputy for about 10 years before joining the Libertyville police department in the late 1960s, rising through the ranks and retiring as chief in 1996.

Craig Podolski

March 2: Craig Podolski, 45, an eighth-grade teacher at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove, died from a cardiac event. The Lake Zurich resident known as “Mr. Podo” was remembered for his humor, smile and dedication to family, students and the community.

Bill Murphy

March 30: Murphy served as Woodridge’s mayor from 1981 to 2013, an era that saw the development of Seven Bridges and much of the town itself. “I think (it is) because of Bill that Woodridge is who we are and where we are today,” Mayor Gina Cunningham said upon his passing at 81 years old. Murphy also was a longtime educator in Woodridge School District 68.

Corsello brothers

March 30: Twins Kayden and Jayden Corsello, age 2, and their brother Xander, 1, died as a result of a fire at a house in Carpentersville.

George Ryan

May 2: Disgraced by a corruption scandal that put him in prison and overshadowed a tenure that included clearing the state’s death row, Ryan died at his home in Kankakee. He was 91. A small-town pharmacist whose political career began when he was appointed to fill a vacant county board seat, he rose to serve speaker of the Illinois House, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and, finally, governor. He was convicted of corruption charges related to accusations he used government offices to reward friends and win elections, and was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison.

José Torres

May 2: José Torres, a nearly 40-year educator and former Elgin Area School District U-46 superintendent, died in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after a brief illness, according to sources. He was 65. Torres headed the state’s second-largest school district — at the time serving about 40,000 students — for six years starting in 2008. In 2014, Torres left U-46 to become president of Aurora-based Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

Colin McRae

May 8: Former Mundelein Mayor Colin McRae, 81, died at a medical facility in Lindenhurst surrounded by family. McRae, who also served on the Lake County Board and as president of the Lake County Forest Preserve District board, was a resident of Grayslake and Florida in recent years

Lorrie Murphy

June 6: Lorrie Murphy, 63, Elk Grove Village’s clerk and Mayor Craig Johnson’s executive assistant, died after a long illness. Murphy, who called the roll at meetings, kept official records and helped coordinate local elections, had been clerk since 2017, and was hired by the village in 2005.

Brian Wilson

June 11: Brian Wilson, 82, legendary Beach Boys leader and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, died in Beverly Hills, California. In the late 1990s, Wilson and his wife, Melinda, lived in a five-bedroom house with a custom-built basement recording studio purchased in St. Charles in 1997. He recorded much of his 1998 solo album, “Imagination,” in the recording studio of the $1.4 million Crane Road Estates home.

Rosemary Argus

June 18: Rosemary S. Argus, 88, was a Des Plaines City Council and Mount Prospect Park District board member. The Rosemary S. Argus Friendship Park Conservatory in Des Plaines bears her name. Argus served on the parks board from 1974 to 2001. She represented the 8th Ward on the city council from 2001 to 2011. Starting in the 1990s, Argus led the Des Plaines Community Foundation.

Dennis Kelly

June 27: Barrington Hills community leader Dennis Kelly was remembered as a nature lover and advocate for small businesses. A longtime member of both the Barrington Hills Park District board and the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, the 76-year-old Kelly died at home after a battle with cancer.

Bob Vinnedge

July 25: Bob Vinnedge, 80, of Hoffman Estates was a longtime Schaumburg Township official and historical society president. The Ohio native had worked for Underwriters Laboratories before his retirement. Upon moving to Elk Grove Village, he became involved with Schaumburg Township and several of its civic groups, including the Schaumburg Township Republican Organization.

Thomas Rivera

July 30: Thomas Rivera, 91, led the Greater Woodfield Convention and Visitors Bureau for more than two decades after founding it in 1983. H was remembered for his influence and impact across the region and state. He considered the 2006 opening of the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel his greatest achievement.

James Lovell

Aug. 7: Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died at 97 in his Lake Forest home. He flew four space missions in all — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — but it was the latter for which he was best known, made famous for a new generation by the 1995 film starring Tom Hanks as Lovell. The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago is named in his honor.

Mike Alagna

Aug. 23: Mike Alagna, 80, of Hoffman Estates was the longtime chief operating officer of Nation Pizza and Foods in Schaumburg. Alagna was a dedicated member of the Schaumburg Business Association and an architect of Harper College’s Advanced Manufacturing program and its Harper Promise scholarship program with Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211.

Roger Minale

Aug. 26: Roger Minale, 82, a longtime Rosemont village trustee, died of a heart attack just moments after attending a ribbon cutting in town. He was elected to the village board in 2009.

Al Carius

Sept. 9: Al Carius, 83, the retired North Central College men’s track and field and cross country coach, died after a long bout with cancer. “Run for Fun and Personal Bests” was the title of a book the Naperville resident published in 2021, as well as his mantra to athletes he coached from 1966 to 2020 as the Cardinals head coach. His cross country teams won 19 NCAA Division III national titles and were runner-up 16 times, to go with 12 national track championships. He was named “coach of the century” in 2000 by his peers.

Charlie Kirk

Sept. 10: Political activist, media personality and author Charlie Kirk was fatally shot by an assassin during an appearance at Utah Valley University. The Turning Point USA founder and Wheeling High School alumni inspired strong opinions for his conservative views. Kirk, 31, rose from a teenage activist to a top podcaster and ally of President Donald Trump. Memorial gatherings were held throughout the suburbs in the days after his murder.

Jim Edgar

Sept. 14: Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a moderate Republican who led the state from 1991 to 1999, died in a Springfield hospital from complications of his treatment for pancreatic cancer. He was 79. In a state with a long legacy of political strife and corruption, Edgar was remembered by Republicans and Democrats alike for his decency and bipartisanship. Edgar was elected to the Illinois House in 1976 and was reelected two years later before being named legislative director for former Gov. Jim Thompson. Edgar served as Illinois secretary of state for a decade before becoming governor.

Dale Berman

Oct. 2: Kane County Board member Dale Berman died at age 91. He was in his second term. He also served several terms as North Aurora president and trustee, and in the 1990s was on the Fox Valley Park District board, including a stint as president.

Ed Murnane

Oct. 13: Longtime Arlington Heights resident Ed Murnane, who died at age 81, worked on President Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign, was a public affairs director for the Regional Transportation Authority and was executive director of the Illinois campaign to elect George H.W. Bush president. In 1992, Bush appointed Murnane as a deputy assistant and director of presidential advance.

Beverly Sussman

Dec. 6: Former Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman served nearly two decades on the village board. Before she entered politics, Sussman taught middle school science for more than 25 years. Sussman served the village for nearly 30 years, first on the Rick Kahen Commission for Residents with Disabilities, then as a 10-year village trustee and finally as village president, an office she held for two terms before retiring in 2023.

Jeff Thorne

Dec. 10: Thorne led the North Central College Cardinals to the 2019 NCAA Division III national championship. It was the Naperville school’s first national title and cemented the program as a national power. Diagnosed on Feb. 4 with Stage 4 gastric cancer, Thorne, 53, of Naperville, died Dec. 10.

• Daily Herald staff writers Russell Lissau, Dave Oberhelman, Eric Peterson, Christopher Placek, Susan Sarkauskas, Katlyn Smith, Barbara Vitello and Mick Zawislak and Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.