Retirements make way for new faces
By Marlene Cook
After an eventful summer, there are now some new faces on South Holland's leadership team.
One of the reasons for change is the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich to benefit the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. The program was accepted by the South Holland Village Board last summer. Locally, the program is a win-win situation. Qualified employees (at least 50 years old with a minimum of 20 years service) benefit by retiring early with increased pensions, and the Village wins because it saves money by having fewer employees, and the starting salary of any new hire is lower than that of retiring employees. The Village also accomplishes strategic restructuring.
 J Wynsma, Village Administrator; Mayor Don De Graff; and Pat Mahon, Deputy Village Administrator, head the leadership team at Village Hall. |
According to J Wynsma, Village Administrator, 13 of the 14 eligible employees took advantage of the
plan. Many of those were administrators, creating new positions and challenges. Through an extensive process of interviews and
screenings, the most highly qualified people were hired to fill those positions. Some existing employees were promoted and some
positions were filled with brand new people.
The process also gave Village officials a chance to increase the diversity within South Holland government. As a result, seven are African-American, and one is Hispanic. The change is exciting and has brought about new ideas and new enthusiasm to each of the affected departments, officials said. |
 The leadership team at Village Hall includes familiar faces as well as new ones. |
 Pictured above are new hires brought in from the outside. |
 Pictured above are the newly promoted Village employees from the Clerk/Collector office. |
The changes also present an opportunity for us to offer a glimpse at the Village's leadership team.
Overseeing the entire administration is President (or Mayor) Don De Graff, the top elected official. He has been the Mayor since 1994 and will be seeking another four-year term next year. His love for the community, his dedication to its success and his faith in its people, and especially in God, has put South Holland among the leading municipalities in the Chicago Southland.
He said, "The new employees will continue that positive trend. They bring new thoughts, new ideas and sometimes a new way of doing things, all for the betterment of the community. They are committed to the team effort established in the past. I'm excited about the new blood, that meshes with the old, to make South Holland an even better community."
Village Administrator, J Wynsma, is responsible for the day-to-day operations. Wynsma came to South Holland as an intern after receiving a masters degree in Government from Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA. He was then hired as an assistant to Village Administrator Rich Zimmerman and put in charge of special projects. When Zimmerman retired earlier this year, it was a natural transition for Wynsma, whose new job is to lead all department heads.
Pat Mahon has been named Deputy Village Administrator. Pat was hired as Communications Director after former Public Relations
Director David Janke retired in 2001. Her job was enhanced to include Equal Employment Opportunity oversight and as a lawyer, she
provided legal advice on labor and human resource issues. Her new job will be the right hand to the Village Administrator.
 |
Mary Ann Thornton is the newest employee and has been hired to replace Pat Mahon as Director of Communications. She has a bachelors degree in English and did graduate work in marketing communications. She is working on her masters degree in Public Administration at Keller Graduate School of Management. Thornton was previously employed at Diversity Inc. in marketing and grant writing. |
Warren "Butch" De Graff has been Director of Planning, Development, and Code Enforcement since the Village created the
department in 1997 to retain and attract new business. He and his employees play a key roll in the tremendous business and industrial
growth in South Holland. The Chicago Southland Alliance recognized those efforts when they presented South Holland with the "Outstanding
Municipality" award in 2002. The department focuses on all new development from its inception to the ribbon cutting and all needs,
including tax incentives, in between.
 |
Reginald Johnson is the new Deputy Director of Planning, Development, and Code Enforcement. Raised in Dixmoor, he said he considered South Holland the "creme de la creme" of the suburbs. Previously he worked in HVAC, lighting design and office planning for the Harold Washington Library, United Airlines Terminal, and the State of Illinois Building. He will take over the duties of Virgil Jordan, current Economic Development Director, when he retires later this year. |
 |
Wally Widelskicame to the Parks Department as superintendent three years ago. He was named Director of Parks and Recreation after Director Paul Pearson retired earlier this year. His job is to oversee the entire parks and recreation operations. |
Bill Rosenberg has been with the Parks Department for more than 20 years in various capacities. His newest title is Deputy
Director of Parks and Maintenance. His job covers the operations of all buildings, including the Community Center and Legion Hall, as
well as the 30 parks covering 175 acres.
 |
Edward Stewart was hired as the new Deputy Director of Recreation after Chip Sobek retired earlier this year. Ed previously served as Recreation Center Manager for the Peoria Park District in downstate Illinois. His expertise in is programming, facility operations, budget preparation and long-range planning. His job description includes overseeing all park programs, from the fitness center, preschool, basketball, swimming, arts and trips, plus involvement in all Village events. |
Warren Millsaps has been with the South Holland Police Department since 1983. He rose through the ranks, including Deputy Chief; was director of MEG (Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Cook County), a drug unit; and graduated with honors from the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA in 2000. He was named Police Chief when Chief Dan Zajeski retired in 2002.
Robert Stegenga has been a South Holland employee since 1981, starting out in Public Works. He joined the Police Department in 1978 as a patrolman and moved up the ranks to sergeant and then lieutenant. He became head of the patrolman and crossing guards. In 2003, he was appointed Deputy Chief and is in charge of all police personnel.
Hollis Dorrough, Jr. was appointed Deputy Chief of Police in 2002, filling the vacancy created when Millsaps was promoted to Chief. Dorrough's prior experience had been with the Chicago Police Department, where he became a cadet in 1969. He has a bachelors degree in Law Enforcement and Management and an associates degree in Criminal Justice. Dorrough is in charge of the department's administrative staff.
James Wiley was appointed Fire Chief when Harris Van Drunen retired in 2001. He trained with the Chicago Fire Department while a student and fireman at Lewis University. He came to South Holland as a part-time fireman in 1971 and became full-time in 1974. He served as Deputy Chief from 1984 until his present appointment.
James Olthoff was named Deputy Fire Chief to replace Wiley when he became Chief in 2001. Olthoff began his career with the South Holland Fire Department as a paid-on-call firefighter 27 years ago and rose through the ranks to Lieutenant. He is especially known for arson investigations.
John J. Thomas was named Director of Emergency Services Disaster Agency (ESDA) in 1988 when Leo Deckelmann retired. Thomas had worked as an urban planner in Chicago and liason to the Fire and Police Planning Division. ESDA volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide manpower and resources to the police and fire departments for public safety.
Ralph Turner is Deputy Director of ESDA and is responsible for all purchasing, as well as scheduling volunteers for events. He
is the installer of scanners and says he does anything else that needs doing. He is a certified scuba diver and has completed courses in
dive and rescue recovery.
 |
Edward Wilmes was hired as Director of Public Works after the retirement of Chris Niehof last December. Wilmes was Aurora Township Highway Commissioner from 1993 to 2001, owned and ran a landscaping company with municipal contracts, and was a construction project manager. He describes his job as, "to make a safe and functional environment for every citizen and employee." |
 |
Jeff Hon was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of Public Works earlier this year. Hon has been with the Public Works Department for more than 22 years and also served as a volunteer fireman. His expertise and knowledge of the community infrastructure qualifies him to be Wilmes' right hand man. |
Alma De Young was hired as a South Holland librarian in 1978 an was promoted to Administrative Librarian in 1989 to oversee all of the South Holland Public Library functions and personnel.