Trustees, Staff Bid Adieu to Trustee Tom Livingston

Village of La Grange Trustees ended Monday night's meeting on a bittersweet note as they said goodbye to Trustee Tom Livingston, who is retiring from the La Grange Village Board.

Livingston, who has been a trustee for the last seven years, had his last night on the board on Monday night. He was given a plaque and Village President Elizabeth Asperger read a proclimation thanking Livingston for his dedicated service.

"Well, tonight we must bid adieu," Asperger said. "Tom is well known for his studied and thoughtful participation on the board. Tom is the kind of guy who honors the true meaning of democracy."

Several members of the village board cited Livingston as a role model for civic leadership and said he would be missed as they wished him luck going forward. 

"The insight you've given us will be invaluable... I will miss those sports metaphors," Trustee Mark Langan said on a lighter note. Several other trustees and the village president also ribbed Livingston for his frequent use of sports metaphors in his statements on the board.

“Oh boy, thank you very much. I’ll have to have you all come over to my house when it’s time to do the dishes,” Livingston told fellow trustees when he spoke.

He invited his three children up to the board's seats and told them to look at the crowd listing local media, village employees and citizens in attendance as the face of democracy.

"There are many ways to give back to your community," he said.

Following the goodbyes, the Village swore in new trustee, Jeff Novak, and also re-elected trustees Mark Kuchler and James Palermo.