Karen Taubman has resigned her position as a River Forest Township trustee. This comes on the heels of the resignation of Township Clerk Margaret Detmer, who resigned last month.
Detmer’s replacement is to be appointed at the Nov. 18 meeting of the township board while Taubman’s replacement is expected to be appointed in December.
Detmer couldn’t be reached for comment about why she resigned.
Taubman, who has been on the township board since 2017 and was reelected to a third term earlier this year, told the Wednesday Journal that she resigned because of increased responsibilities at her main job. Taubman works at the Cardinal Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University in an administrative role.
“I have increased responsibilities at work and in my personal life, and I basically don’t have the time to give the township the attention that it deserves right now,” she said.
The township board, in its role as the Board of Managers of the River Forest Civic Center Authority, has been in contentious negotiations with the River Forest Community Center over the management of the River Forest Civic Center building. When the board voted 3-2 to terminate the lease of the Community Center earlier this year, Taubman voted no along with David Bonner.
But Taubman said that her disagreement with Township Supervisor John Becvar over that issue didn’t play a major role in her decision to resign.
“Not in particular,” Taubman said when asked if this was a factor. “You can look at my voting record and see how I’ve been voting on things. I’ve been voting no on almost everything involving it.”
Taubman said that disagreements among board members are a good thing.
“That’s part of being on a board,” she said. “You know you’re not always going to agree with the other people on the board and that’s healthy.”
Negotiations between the township and Community Center are ongoing and the center remains at the building.
Taubman submitted her resignation to Becvar by email on Nov. 3.
In an email to the Wednesday Journal, Becvar thanked Taubman for her service to the township.
“I would like to thank Karen for her service as an active member of the township for about 10 years including time as township clerk before she was a trustee,” Becvar wrote.
Becvar said that Taubman’s resignation would be effective Nov. 18 when the township board officially accepts her resignation.
Becvar and the board will appoint a replacement to serve out the rest of her term, which runs until May of 2029. Once it is official, a notice of the vacancy will be posted on the township’s website as well as instructions as to how to apply for the unpaid position.
To be eligible to serve on the township board an individual needs to be a registered voter who has lived in River Forest for one year.
The township board typically meets once a month. Becvar said that those interested in applying to fill the vacancy should try to attend the Nov. 18 meeting of the township board and Civic Center Board of Managers to get an idea of the time commitment required and the nature of the work.
The township clerk is a part-time paid position. The township clerk is expected to work about seven hours a week and is paid $9,500 annually.
Applicants for the township clerk position were interviewed last week.