In the small, familial (except when it’s not) confines of Forest Park’s village hall, it is hard to lose a valued colleague. The announcement last week that Vanessa Belmonte, the longtime village clerk, was retiring is a notable loss.
The village hall staff is small with most staffers doing multiple jobs, taking on roles beyond any strict job description. Certainly that was true for Belmonte, who not only kept public records but also handled payroll and employee benefits, functioning as a de facto human resources chief.
As in most towns, the clerk’s role has an undefinable middle place both in-house and in the way that person interfaces with the public. In Forest Park, the clerk is an appointed, not elected position. Still, there is this earned perception that the clerk has some neutral role. They are always present at public meetings, but they don’t have a vote. They aren’t a top decision-maker, but they offer counsel to the top administrators.
Belmonte will be wrapping up over 20 years at village hall. She’s been the clerk a good long time. That happens in a lot of villages. Electeds come and go. Administrators can be hired guns or are often climbing a career ladder. Clerks are just a steady presence. They make things run. They carry the institutional memory with them.
And while village commissioners honored Belmonte last week with sincere praise for her honesty and hard work, it will be the loss of a person who kept the threads tied together that will be hardest to replace.
Village Administrator Rachell Entler knew Belmonte both as a mentor when she was elected as a village commissioner years back, and also as an advisor as she took on the top staff post at village hall. She praised Belmonte profusely and thanked her for help on a long road.
The appointment of the next clerk will be an important decision with potentially a long-term impact.
Pioneer Tap reverts
Tensions are building again in the immediate neighborhood around Pioneer Tap. The corner bar at Desplaines and Randolph has been a source of concern at village hall, in the police department, and among neighbors who complain about fighting, noise and general ill behavior among the bar’s customers.
The village shut the place down once this year before allowing it to reopen with a remedial plan for better security in place. Whether that plan ever took hold, or is just withering as the summer arrived and now closes out, needs to be evaluated.
Pioneer Tap sits squarely in a residential neighborhood. And neighbors with cellphones and video are recording and complaining. The mayor/liquor commissioner and police chief need to be paying close attention.