The Illinois Municipal League (IML) elected officers and members to its Board of Directors at its Annual Business Meeting, held September 25, as a part of the 108th IML Annual Conference at the Hilton Chicago.
The IML membership unanimously elected Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe to serve a one-year term as President. Also elected during the conference were River Forest Village President Catherine Adduci as First Vice President and Hazel Crest Village President Vernard L. Alsberry, Jr. as Second Vice President.
In addition to the officers, 34 Vice Presidents were elected to serve a one-year term, and five IML Past Presidents continue to serve, on the statewide organization’s Board of Directors. West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda was elected to serve as a Vice President.
“I look forward to working with mayors from across the State and assist in solving the complex issues our communities and state face,” said Pineda. “Through this exchange of ideas, we will better advocate for local government at the State and federal levels.”
ABOUT MAYOR RUBEN PINEDA
Ruben Pineda has a record of public service that began in 1998 when he was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the City Council in West Chicago’s Third Ward. He has been Mayor since 2012. He was the first Hispanic Alderman in the City of West Chicago, and is now the City’s first Hispanic Mayor.
He has contributed to such initiatives as the state-of-the-art water treatment facility, the waste transfer station, Educare, Habitat for Humanity, Healthy West Chicago, and the Move with the Mayor campaign of the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention out of Washington, D.C.
He signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge in 2017 as a means to bring awareness and to promote action in West Chicago to save the Monarch butterfly. Since doing so, the City received a national award in 2019 from America in Bloom, for the Best Pollinator Program among its members throughout the country.
Pineda, who was re-elected to another four years of service in the 2021 Consolidated Election, has led his community through the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to his many community partnerships and collaborations with other local and State elected leaders, he is proud that West Chicago has vaccinated over 13,000 people as of the end of April 2021.
Notwithstanding the health crisis, Pineda continues to pursue future economic stability for the City, which is benefitting from the current momentum of community growth and development at the DuPage Business Center. Additionally, the City’s prospects for its Central Main Street Redevelopment Plan represents the largest single physical transformation to downtown West Chicago in its history.
He has been married for more than 30 years to his wife Julie, and credits her with encouraging his active involvement in public service.
ABOUT THE ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE
The Illinois Municipal League is the statewide organization representing local communities throughout Illinois. Founded in 1913, IML has worked continuously for the benefit of all 1,296 municipalities in Illinois to provide a formal voice on matters involving common interests.
