I want to express my sincere thanks to the residents of Forest Park for the honor of serving on the village council these last four years. It has been a privilege and has offered me the opportunity to meet and become friends with many of our residents. I was very proud to attend functions with a badge on my chest saying “Commissioner – Village of Forest Park”. Thank you for allowing me to serve our village.
Serving on the Village Council has also given me a glimpse of what it is to be an elected official and how hard it can be to make decisions on behalf of the public. I tried to base my decisions on the best long-term interests of our entire village. At times, this meant voting against the wishes of some residents, businesses, or organizations that were all important members of our community. But the best long-term interests of the entire village, county, state, and nation must always be the basis for decisions made by our elected officials.
Since the founding of our great nation, every preceding generation has given the coming generation a stronger, wealthier, and more prosperous country than the one that was given to them. We must continue this great tradition. Our elected officials must make their decisions recognizing the impact on future generations. For our Village officials, this means improving our streets and sewers, fully funding our benefit plans and meeting our obligations, increasing our tax base with good developments, improving our public buildings, and expanding our public parks.
Thank you, again, for the privilege and honor of serving as your Commissioner and best wishes to our new village council. May they serve well in the future.
Marty Tellalian
