Chicago Executive Airport conference room dedicated to late Prospect Heights mayor

The Chicago Executive Airport board has dedicated the conference room in which it meets to the late Prospect Heights Mayor Nick Helmer.

Before his first mayoral election in 2011, Helmer represented Prospect Heights for 14 years on the board, which is co-owned by the city and the village of Wheeling.

His family and local officials gathered Wednesday for the dedication of the Mayor Nicholas J. Helmer Executive Conference Room. Helmer's widow, Gail, personally unveiled the plaque beside the door.

Helmer died Jan. 26 at the age of 79 after a brief hospitalization for complications suffered from a fall during an ice storm. He was more than halfway through his third mayoral term.

A lifelong love of aviation had driven his earlier service to the airport board.

If and when the main building at the airport is ever replaced, the naming honor would be carried over to the conference room of the new facility, Executive Director Jeffrey Miller said.

Such a new facility is something Helmer was a strong proponent of, he added.

While it's become a somewhat common practice for airports to name meeting rooms to honor people important to their histories, Helmer's name did not displace anyone else's, Miller said.