Guest Speaker Mayor George Van Dusen - November 3, 2015

Posted by Al Anile 
 
Skokie Major George Van Dusen was the guest speaker at our weekly meeting of November 3, 2015. The Major said that the Village of Skokie is in good shape, and than he spoke in length about the City of Chicago. He said that these days he sees similarities between Chicago and  Detroit Michigan, and unless drastic changes for the better are made, Chicago could eventually follow the faith of Detroit.
 
On January 4, 1999, Mayor George Van Dusen was appointed to fill the remaining term of retiring Mayor Jacqueline Gorell.  In accordance with state law, members of the Board of Trustees must appoint the position of Acting Mayor from among the current Board members.  In April 2001, Van Dusen was elected to the position of Mayor with 81% of the vote and has been re-elected three times since then.
 
Van Dusen had been serving as a Village of Skokie Trustee since 1984.  From 1973 to 1999, he had served as Legislative Assistant and Director of Suburban Operations for U.S. Congressman Sidney R. Yates (9 CD-IL).  Upon the Congressman’s retirement from the Congress, Van Dusen resumed his teaching career offering courses in history and government at local institutions including Oakton Community College.  Prior to becoming a Village Trustee, Van Dusen served as Assistant Supervisor of Niles Township.
 
As a Village Trustee, Van Dusen was an active member of the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC).  The Conference is an agency consisting of nearly 50 municipal governments and townships addressing the needs and issues confronting cities and villages on a regional basis.  Van Dusen served as its President in 2006-2007 and has served as a member of the agency’s Executive Committee and the Transportation Committee.
 
Van Dusen also has served for many years on the Legislative Committee of the NWMC.   This committee reviews and proposes legislation to the Illinois General Assembly and to the U.S. Congress.  Recent issues the committee has addressed included eminent domain, the Telecommunications Simplification and Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act, the Emergency 9-1-1 Amendments, Tax Increment Financing, Household Hazardous Waste Disposal, Transfer Tax Amendments, as well as pension issues.
 
A significant outgrowth from NWMC is the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) for which Van Dusen serves as Chairman of the Board.  Prior to the formation of SWANCC, Mayor Van Dusen worked with the Village and NWMC in implementing the Village of Skokie’s comprehensive recycling program.  That program has served as a model for many other communities.
 
Van Dusen, also, is a member of the Council of Mayors Executive Committee which has the responsibility for regional transportation spending and is Co-Chair of the North Shore Council of Mayors, which oversees the distribution of state and federal funding for highways in the twelve communities that makes up the Council’s catchment area.
 
Van Dusen is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Oakton Community College where he teaches American History and American Government.
 
Van Dusen has been a resident of Skokie for over thirty-five years, is married to Susan, and has two children, David and Daniel, a grandson, Anthony and a granddaughter, Zoé.  He is actively involved in the community.  His involvement has included President of the Highland School PTA, member of the United Way of Skokie Valley Needs Assessment Study (1997), Board of Directors of both Temple Judea Mizpah and Skokie Indians Little League.  In addition to community and public service, Van Dusen enjoys exercising, particularly running, and coaching youth baseball.  He is co-author of the Detroit Tigers Encyclopedia (Sports Publishing, Inc., 2003) and is working on a study of his former boss Congressman Sidney Yates.
 
Van Dusen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Detroit (Michigan) and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Loyola University (Chicago).