Lake Forest Alderman Resigns After Attending A Single Meeting

LAKE FOREST, IL — A member of the Lake Forest City Council resigned Wednesday, citing unspecified personal reasons, according to city staff.

Former Ald. Terry Mieling, 1st Ward, was elected to office in April after running unopposed with the endorsement of the Lake Forest Caucus.

Police declined to comment on the nature of an investigation into an incident involving Mieling that occurred prior to his resignation.

After being sworn in on May 1, Mieling was absent from Monday's City Council meeting — meaning he will have only attended a single meeting of the Lake Forest City Council as an alderman.

A retired certified public accountant, Mieling provided investment banking services to health care providers and other nonprofit organizations for the last 30 years of his career.

Some of the former alderman's past positions include fiscal director for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, chief financial officer for a hospital, senior manager at what is now Ernst & Young, vice president at Nuveen and director with Merrill Lynch, according to an online biography.

Mayor Randy Tack is expected to appoint someone to serve the first year of Mieling's two-year term in office at an upcoming City Council meeting, staff announced.

Meanwhile, police are investigating an incident involving Mieling that took place at the Starbucks, 672 N. Western Ave., in downtown Lake Forest, the Lake Forester reported.

Lake Forest Police Deputy Chief Rob Copeland referred all questions about the investigation to Chief Karl Walldorf, who did not responded to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.