Glen Ellyn officials sworn in

Glen Ellyn underwent its biennial changing of the guard Monday with the installation of three new trustees and a new village president.

Mark Pfefferman is the new leader of the village board. New trustees include Peter Cooper, Phillip Hartweg and Carl Henninger.

"The team you have before you is eager to serve," Pfefferman said. "I'm convinced that we have the right people, in the right place, at the right time."

The board also said goodbye to former president Vicky Hase and board members Timothy Armstrong, Mary Jane Chapman and Peter Norton, all of whom stepped down after one term in office, as is traditional in Glen Ellyn.

Hase left the new board with some parting advice: "You weren't elected to represent yourself, staff, friends or neighbors."

"Learn to disagree without being disagreeable," she said.

Hase said she was proud of the board's accomplishments in the past four years, including a downtown study, handling finances during a tough year and developing a user-friendly village Web site and weekly e-mail newsletters.

All three of the new trustees have had an interest in serving the community, but waited until their children were older before putting their hats into the village-board ring.

"I didn't run with an agenda other than pledge to listen to people," Cooper said. "I'm truly honored and humbled to have this opportunity."

Hartweg, who's lived in town since 1972, said he hopes to see the downtown plan worked out effectively and to help the board communicate its goals.

Cooper agreed the board needs to improve the way it communicates. While trustees often respond to resident input, it isn't always apparent, he said.

Henninger said he contemplated running for an elected position when he was retired, but saw a chance to step up this year.

"The opportunity to contribute the most is now," he said. "I'm looking so forward to the next four years. I think you'll be very pleased with our service."