The first ever River Forest Township Administrator is a familiar face in the township offices on the second floor of the River Forest Civic Center.
At the Sept. 8 meeting of the River Forest Township Board of Trustees, Supervisor Vanessa Druckman announced that she has hired River Forest Township Assessor Kathy Elliott to fill the new job of township administrator.
Elliott, a resident of Berwyn, will continue serving as assessor on an independent contractor basis since she does not live in River Forest. She is something of a jack of all trades. In addition to her work as assessor, she is a licensed massage therapist and previously worked as an executive assistant for Hewitt Associates, a manager and trainer for Starbucks, and a draftsman
As township administrator, Elliott will supervise the senior programming and handle other administrative tasks such as writing the township newsletter. She will work closely with Druckman.
The hire will also allow the township offices to be staffed throughout the work week. In addition to Elliott and Druckman being in the township offices multiple days during the week, township Clerk Mark Hosty and Deputy Assessor Miranda Redfield will also typically spend a few hours a week in the township offices.
Both the administrator and assessor positions are part time in River Forest Township. Elliott will work no more than 1,000 hours a year as assessor and approximately 15 to 20 hours a week as administrator. She will be paid $36 an hour in both roles and will not receive any benefits other than 36 hours of paid personal leave annually.
As administrator, Elliott will be the only direct employee of River Forest Township. The township previously had two employees (a mental health administrator and a senior services coordinator), but both have left those jobs and have not been replaced.
Elliott is not the only person in Cook County to serve as both township assessor and township administrator. In Lemont Township Mario Mollo has served in both roles since 2024.
Elliott said that she is looking forward to her new responsibilities.
“I’m really excited to work with Vanessa,” she said. “I’m excited for the things that we can do.”
Elliott was appointed assessor in July to replace long-time township Assessor Pam Kende who resigned after 21 years. Elliott had served as River Forest Township Deputy Assessor since 2018. Druckman said that Elliott’s familiarity with the township was a big factor in her getting the administrator job.
“We are trying to be sure to be sure to be a very lean and efficient operation so having our assessor double as our administrator helps us do that,” Druckman said.
She added: “I also think this position is going to have a lot of front facing, interacting with seniors who are coming into the building to do a lot of our programming, and it seems to me to be a very efficient way to not only have Kathy be able to be interacting with seniors but also to have them meet the person who can help them with their taxes is going to be a wonderful