Hoffman trustee Collins resigns from board

Hoffman Estates Trustee Cary Collins turned an otherwise dull village board meeting on Monday into a memorable one by announcing he'll step down from his post later this month.

“I'd like to do this so that the board, the mayor, has the opportunity to find somebody who is going to be able to serve in this capacity, get some new blood on the village board,” Collins said at the end of the meeting. “Probably a lot of the trustees will probably be really happy to see me gone.”

Collins, 63, a native of Gary, Ind., said his last day as a trustee will be Nov. 22, when committees meet. He said wants the chance to focus on his law practice and build relationships at the Rolling Meadows courthouse, where he hopes to eventually serve as a judge. He ran unsuccessfully for the bench in 2006 and 2008.

“I've always wanted to be a judge, and that isn't over,” Collins said.

Collins said he's in decent health, and he and Mayor William McLeod reiterated that this was Collins' decision. He said he didn't want to sit through the village's budget process if he's was planning to leave in April, when his term expires.

“It's like a baseball player. I'm going out on my own,” Collins said.

Months ago Collins announced he wasn't running for re-election. Collins has served as a trustee for 7½ years, previously serving as a Hoffman Estates Park District commissioner.

Collins said he has no interest in running for mayor and that resigning would “eliminate” any temptation to run again for trustee. But he said he'd consider to run again for board in the future.

He told members of the board earlier Monday night. Staff members dropped by after the meeting to shake hands and expressed their surprise. One of those was Zoning Boards of Appeals Committee Chairman William Weaver, who complimented Collins for his dissenting views.

“Diversity is the best possible thing to have on a board,” Weaver said.