Carl Hansen honored in renaming ceremony

Carl Hansen's name is now a permanent fixture on the newly placed sign that reads "Carl R. Hansen Woods" in the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve.

Hansen, one of the longest serving commissioners in Cook County history, was honored Thursday morning with a ceremony that involved tributes from family members and past commission colleagues. All attested to Hansen's hard work as a public servant.

Hansen, a longtime Mount Prospect resident, died this past February at the age of 83.

"One of the most profound effects he had on his district ... is the area we are sitting in," said Commissioner Tim Schneider, of Bartlett, who now represents the county board district that Hansen did for 32 years.

Schneider was referring to Hansen's work to prevent a landfill from destroying 600 acres of the Cook County Forest Preserve. He said this achievement is what Hansen saw as one of his greatest.

Many of Hansen's family members were present, and his son Lothar "Ulli" Hansen got up to say a few words.

"My father was a man who really loved nature, loved the outdoors," the younger Hansen said.

There were around 40 people in attendance, all connected to Hansen in a different way.

Jean Jackson, Hansen's niece, presented a resolution that was given by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in honor of Hansen's public service.

Aside from his work for the county, Hansen served in the U.S. Army during World War II, being stationed in Germany. He was present during the Nuremberg Trials.

He obtained his MBA from the University of Chicago, and was elected to the Cook County commission in 1974.

"Carl Hansen, to put it quite simply ... is, not was, my role model," said Commissioner Tony Peraica. "Carl stands as a proposition, in my mind, that one person can make a difference."

After the tributes, the group moved from the pavilion off Route 59 toward the road to unveil the new sign bearing Hansen's name. The area was previously known as the Shoe Factory Road Woods.

Schneider led the commission in bringing about this renaming as a way to honor Hansen for his work not only as a commissioner, but specifically because he worked to protect the very woods that are being named after him.