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Mayor
Eugene Siegel
Gene was born on April 5th in Chicago, the
eldest of five children, to Stanley and Stella Szczygielski
(Siegel). He attended St. Turibius grammar school,
Gage Park High School, National College of Naprapathy, and
numerous seminars through the Chicago Colleges and Loyola
University. Gene was recently married to Linda Wilkins
from Florida. Gene and his late wife, Virginia, have
four children, Gary, Janet, Andrew & Matthew, and four
grandchildren, Steven, Bradley, Victoria, and Alexandria.
Gene has been a resident of Chicago Ridge for the past 44
years. Gene has been involved in public service for the
last 40 years (his entire adult life) and became involved in
politics in 1961 and was:
Appointed
1963-1971 Deputy Coroner for Cook County
Coroner’s Office
1971-1986 Assistant Chief - Cook County Sheriff’s Office
1987-1993 Administrative Assistant - State Treasurer’s
Office
Elected
Gene was elected as part-time Mayor of
Chicago Ridge in 1975 to fill an unexpired term. He was
re-elected in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, and in 1993, was elected
as a full-time Mayor, and was re-elected in 1997 to a
four year term. This past April, Gene was re-elected for
another four year term.
Mayor Siegel was a member of the Chicago
Cook County Criminal Justice Commission for six years; one of
two mayors in all of Cook County serving in that capacity. He
also is a past Associate of the Crisis Center for South
Suburbia.
At the present time, Mayor Siegel is
serving as Vice-Chairman of the Southwest Council of Mayors,
and is the Legislative Chairman for the Southwest Conference
of Local Government. Also, he is serving as Vice-President and
a member of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Municipal
League and was recently appointed to the Executive Committee,
representing nearly 1300 Villages and Cities in IL; a member
of the Midway Airport Task Force; a member of the Cook County
Advisory Board on Community Development Block Grant
Applications; was one of the founders of Southwest Central
Dispatch and is now on the Board of Directors. He is on the
Chicago Area Transportation Study for Northeast, IL and is
currently a member of the Executive Committee and one of the
original members of Southwest Local Government. He is also a
member of the Mayor’s Caucus and has been appointed to serve
on the Legislative Committee for the Mayor’s Caucus.
Gene Siegel’s accomplishments as Mayor of
Chicago Ridge for the past 25 years:
Gene created a solvent tax base by
spear-heading the development of the Chicago Ridge Mall in
1981, and the Commons of Chicago Ridge in 1988. These
developments allow his administration to hold the line on
property owner’s taxes and still permit such Village
improvements as the improvement of Ridgeland Avenue to
establish commercial land use, the installation of an adequate
water system with a two million gallon reservoir and a pumping
station, the paving of all streets with storm sewers, curbs,
gutters and modern street lighting, a Senior Citizen Center,
the installation of traffic signals at hazardous
intersections, and the establishment of a Youth Service Bureau
with a Youth Director to counsel families and their children 7
days a week. In March 1994, the Home Rule referendum passed
which put the Village in a strong financial posture. Since
1997, the Village has been able to refund surplus funds to the
homeowners of Chicago Ridge. In September 1998 the Village was
the 1st Municipality to pass an Ordinance prohibiting the use
and sale of a laser pointer by anyone under 18 years of age.
By doing so, Chicago Ridge became a model for other
communities nationwide to implement their own such Ordinance.
In his 25 years as Mayor, Gene has also been instrumental in
passing bills in the Legislation.
At the present time, the Industrial Park,
located on 130 acres, continues to grow with new business. The
Mayor’s most recent accomplishments include the Public Works
Facility located in the Industrial Park, and the New Municipal
Complex, that holds the Village Administrative Offices, Police
Department, Youth Service Bureau, Senior Citizen Center and
plays host to many community organizations. This 60,000 square
foot facility was built at no cost to the taxpayers of Chicago
Ridge. The Mayor was deeply honored when the Village Board
named the new facility the Eugene L. Siegel Municipal Complex
for his quarter of a century (25 years) of dedication and
leadership to the Citizens of Chicago Ridge.
During his 4 decades as Mayor, Gene has
always maintained an "open door policy" for all of
his constituents and employees.
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Village of Chicago Ridge
10455 S. Ridgeland Avenue
Chicago Ridge, Illinois 60415
(708) 425-7700
This page last modified
03/22/2005 .
All information © 2003 Chicago Ridge, Illinois
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