New era, old name? Debate grows over honoring former mayor at new Schaumburg village hall as construction nears

Family members of Schaumburg’s influential early mayor Bob Atcher see no reason the new village hall shouldn’t carry his name like the recently demolished building.

But current Mayor Tom Dailly isn’t so sure that will be the case when the paint dries and the doors are opened.

“It’s not the old building,” Dailly said, referring to the 52-year-old Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center demolished in April. “It’s not a building that Mayor Atcher ever attended or had anything to do with its design.”

The replacement village hall is on the cusp of construction, with the foundation to be dug next week in anticipation of a late 2026 completion.

Atcher’s fame as a country musician was probably more widespread, but he became mayor of Schaumburg in 1959 — only three years after its incorporation — and remained so until 1975.

Among his accomplishments, he’s credited with largely separating the village’s commercial and residential districts that paved the way for Woodfield Mall and surrounding businesses.

The former village hall was completed only two years before the end of Atcher’s term, but wasn’t named for him until his 1993 death.

“My father had a very strict rule that one didn't name anything after the living because of the potential for embarrassment if some misdeeds or other black marks were disclosed after the naming had taken place,” said Rob W. Atcher, son of the former mayor.

“This resulted in a quandary when the decision was made to name the metropolitan center in his honor,” he added. “They waited until my father was on his deathbed before they informed him of that honor. They wanted him to know that it had been decided rather than do it posthumously.”

Village staff Wednesday said they believed a committee of the whole village board would meet to discuss the naming later this summer, but Dailly was adamant there wouldn’t be.

“It’s too far away to even talk about,” he said of his own view of the time frame. “We’ve got enough other things to worry about.”

Though Dailly believes the building will open as simply Schaumburg Village Hall, longtime Trustee Jack Sullivan said the board has been assured the matter will be discussed first.

“I wouldn’t put too much into the fact that we’re not going to sit down right now,” Sullivan said. “We have over a year. I can understand his position right now. I don’t think this is really an issue at this point.”

The Atcher family doesn’t believe the aging of the former facility put an expiration date on their patriarch’s legacy.

“Obviously, it has been 50 years since my father retired as mayor of Schaumburg,” Rob Atcher said. “Despite his success as an entertainer, he considered his greatest accomplishment the founding and development of Schaumburg. I think it would be a mistake to lose the acknowledgment of his connection and contribution to Schaumburg’s roots.”

The Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts next door was named for the most recent former mayor, who served in that capacity from 1987 to 2019. And within it is the Maggie Atcher Theatre named for Bob Atcher’s wife.

The Schaumburg Park District’s Atcher Island Water Park is also named in honor of the former mayor.