Changing of the Guard on the Shorewood Village Board

Shorewood's newest village trustee remembered telling himself he would never seek office again when his bid for village board was thwarted four years ago by a paltry 14 votes.

But  did run again, and triumphed this time by the even slimmer margin of 10 votes.

Brockman recalled the agony of defeat and the thrill of his narrow victory right after taking his oath of office during Tuesday night's village board meeting.

He told of finishing fourth out of five in the 2003, and then reached out to , the incumbent he unseated, when he spoke about his loss in 2007.

"I know how you feel, Lea, because I came up 14 votes short," Brockman said.

For his part, Stahr, during his last meeting as a village trustee, complimented Brockman.

"I hadn't really planned on losing the election," Stahr said, "but I couldn't have lot it to a better guy."

Mayor Rick Chapman, who read a resolution honoring Stahr, said, "Leroy, you will be missed."

Stahr's fellow trustees and village staff stood to applaud the outgoing trustee.

In addition to Brockman, the incumbents who held onto their positions — and finished one-two in the four-horse field — and , were also sworn in Tuesday night.

Also during Tuesday night's meeting, Trustee Gary Fitzgerald mentioned that Shorewood Home and Auto is planning to move from its current location on Jefferson Street to a property on Route 59. The matter will be discussed further at an upcoming planning and zoning committee meeting.

Tuesday night's meeting also included the unanimous approval of a $5,000 payout to seek a grant for improvements to Westshore Park. The money is available through an Open Space Land Acquisition Development grant provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

If the grant is obtained, it will recoup half of the $400,000 budgeted for improvements to Westshore park.

The board also voted to divert $15,000 for the stabilization of the banks of Hammel Creek.

"There is a critical portion of the bank along Hammel Creek where it bends north," village Administrator Kurt Carroll wrote in a memo to the village board. "The area is behind the homes where Robin Hill turns north onto Cardinal."

The village and county are going to split the project's $30,000 tab down the middle, according to Carroll's memo.