Island Lake Trustee Debra Jenkins resigns
Island Lake Trustee Debra Jenkins has resigned, saying she and her husband are moving out of the village.
Jenkins announced her departure from the village board during Thursday night's meeting. It was effective immediately.
Jenkins and her husband, Greg, are moving to Lake Forest. Village trustees legally must reside in the town they serve, so she had to resign.
On Friday, Jenkins said the move will make her husband's work commute to Chicago easier, as well as her own work-related drives to Chicago and the North Shore.
"Our new home has great access to the highway and trains," Jenkins said. "It will allow us more time with each other and more time with our dogs."
Mayor Charles Amrich called Jenkins "a very energetic and very positive force on the board."
"We're going to miss her very much," he said.
Jenkins was elected to a 4-year term in April 2015. That October, Jenkins announced her intent to resign from the board because of a planned move to Chicago. But she didn't move and she remained a trustee.
This time, however, Jenkins is sure she's done. She said leaving the board and the town is "tough."
"I have made so many great friends and have truly enjoyed my time learning the inner workings of local government," Jenkins said. "It has been a wonderful experience."
It'll be up to Amrich and the village board to appoint someone to complete Jenkins' term, which ends in spring 2019. Amrich will accept applications from interested residents, but a procedure hasn't been established yet, he said.
Before joining the village board, Jenkins served on the fire and police commission and had gained a reputation as a local activist and a financial supporter of village events and programs.
Jenkins also served as Amrich's campaign treasurer after he took office in 2013.
That same year, Greg Jenkins settled a libel lawsuit against the village for $20,000. His complaint focused on a website created by a supporter of ex-Mayor Debbie Herrmann that reprinted police reports and other official documents, including some about Greg Jenkins and his son from a prior marriage.