Maine Twp. assessor, former Dist. 207 board member Tom Rueckert dies at 73

Maine Township's assessor of the past 29 years, Thomas E. Rueckert, died Tuesday at the age of 73 after a long battle with lung disease.

First elected township assessor in 1985, Rueckert had previously served as president of the Maine Township High School District 207 board of education and chairman of the Oakton College Law Enforcement Advisory Committee.

“Tom was a good friend and a wonderful public servant who went above and beyond the call of his office to faithfully serve the residents of Maine Township for nearly three decades,” Township Supervisor Carol Teschky said in a statement released Wednesday. “He and his staff helped an estimated 150,000 people with their real estate tax exemptions, complaints, and general real estate tax questions, and, always with a kind word and helpful attitude. He will be missed.”

Rueckert was a retired criminal investigator for the Illinois Department of Revenue, a prosecuting attorney for the city of Des Plaines and an active member of the Maine Township Regular Republican Organization.

He passed away in his sleep Tuesday, according to township.

Rueckert is survived by his wife, Barbara, children, Timothy and Elizabeth, and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Colonial-Wojciechowski Funeral Home, 8025 W. Golf Road in Niles. Cremation will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to The American Lung Association.