The Forest Park village council is poised to appoint former Forest Park Review Editor Maria Maxham to fill a vacant commissioner seat at a special meeting on Friday. If appointed, Maxham will replace former commissioner Dan Novak, who resigned his position last month, because his family is moving out of the village.
Maxham said she made the decision to take the appointment over the weekend after being asked by Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, who consulted at least two other board members.
“Everything came down to this past weekend,” said Maxham, who effectively resigned her position as editor of the Review on Monday — before a regular council meeting that took place later that day. Maxham did not cover the meeting.
Maxham said she had conversations with Hoskins and Commissioners Joe Byrnes and Jessica Voogd — all of whom indicated that the board would vote in favor her appointment.
“About two weeks ago, after Novak resigned, the mayor said he would prefer to appoint a woman, because as far as he knows, there have never been two women commissioners serving at once,” Maxham said.
“He gave me the name of somebody he was considering and he said I’d be a good candidate, because I’m intimately knowledgeable about the village. I thought about it, but it wasn’t any serious consideration until this past weekend,” she said.
Maxham is expected to be appointed to the board on July 16 at 2 p.m. in the lower level of Village Hall, 517 Des Plaines Ave.
More as this story develops.
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com
