Phillip Buta was appointed to fill the vacancy on the River Forest Township Board of Trustees on Dec. 18 that was created when Karen Taubman recently resigned from the township board. Buta, who had been serving as the chairman of the township’s mental health committee was chosen from a field of three candidates.
“We just felt he was the best qualified,” said John Becvar, River Forest township supervisor. “He obviously has been a multiyear volunteer with the township so that we felt he really knew what he was getting into and had been proven to have been a very strong volunteer.”
Buta works as the executive director of the BJB Foundation and the MED 13L Foundation. MED 13L is, according to the foundation’s website, “a complex developmental disorder with a spectrum of symptoms including developmental delays, intellectual disability and distinct facial features.” Buta has extensive experience in fundraising.
He has served on the township’s mental health committee since 2023 and just became the committee’s chairman in September. In 2019 he served on the River Forest School District 90’s Community Caucus and served on the District 90 Inclusiveness Advisory Board from 2019 through 2023.
The other two people who applied to fill Taubman’s seat on the township board were appointed to fill committee vacancies on township committees. Kevin Ryan was appointed to replace Buta on the mental health committee while Lindsay Rask was appointed to replace Mark Hosty, who was recently appointed township clerk to fill the vacancy created when Margaret Detmer resigned that post, on the youth and family services committee.
“We were very fortunate that all three applicants were able to be slotted into opportunities within our township,” Becvar said. “All three people who raised their hand, they all got appointed. Only one person could be appointed trustee but 100% got appointed to roles within the township.”