Third trustee takes over as Wheeling president

Dean Argiris started his rotation as Wheeling village president with a big responsibility. Last Saturday, on his first day on the job, he started getting phone calls about heavy rains that were affecting the village.

A few subdivisions in town, including Lakeside Villas, experienced massive flooding. On Sunday, Argiris attended a meeting at the complex to assuage resident fears.

"They were very appreciative for whatever we could do," he said.

The village's public works department worked around the clock to drain flooded areas, and, on Friday, Argiris declared a state of emergency to help residents qualify for funds that may be available for flood damage. Homeowners should leave their names, addresses, phone numbers and a brief description of damage on an automated phone line at (847) 459-2633.

"That was coming out of the gate real good," he said of dealing with the disaster so soon after taking office. "We got through it."

Argiris conducted his first village board meeting on Monday. He's the third in a rotation of trustees and will hold the president spot for about 8 months.

The board decided on the plan after Greg Klatecki resigned as village president in 2007, citing health problems. No trustee could get enough votes to fill out the time until the next election, so three trustees who had received votes agreed to take turns serving in the post.

Trustee Judy Abruscato took over first, and Pat Horcher just finished his stint. Argiris will be the acting president until elections in April.

Argiris was elected to the village board in 2001. Before that he spent four years on the plan commission.

He said in the few months he'll be holding the job, he wants to take inventory of several ongoing concerns, such as finding a new use for the empty Wickes site on Dundee Road.

"I want to follow through and get them done," he said.

Another big issue has been what Argiris called "bad blood" with other taxing bodies. He said there's a perception that the village doesn't work well with other entities.

"One of the main focuses is to mend some of those bridges," he said.

He said personality clashes have led to issues with the park district and school districts. There also has been tension with Prospect Heights over Chicago Executive Airport, which both towns own.

"Sometimes the village of Wheeling is perceived as the big, bad guy," he said. "As leaders, we need to sit down and move forward."

In the end, Argiris said his time as acting president will give residents a chance to test him, Abruscato and Horcher out if they decide to run for the spot in April.

"Everybody had a little bit of a sneak preview of how they're going to run the board," he said. "I think it's a great thing for the community."