New Lenox Village Board Approves Appointment Of Newest Trustee

NEW LENOX, IL — The New Lenox Board of Trustees approved in a 6-0 vote at its July 12 meeting the appointment of Tara Kenny by Mayor Tim Baldermann to replace former trustee Jasen Howard, who was elected to a second term in April but resigned after his family relocated out of state.

Kenny, 36, is now the youngest member of the board. In appointing Kenny, Baldermann highlighted her works with Lincolnway Special Recreation Association, her position of president of her home owners association in the Heather Glen subdivision, as well as other examples of community service to the Village.

“Tara is just — in my opinion as mayor and as a resident who I want to see representing us — is exactly what local government is supposed to be about: It’s supposed to be about community service, about answering to the people, about providing the services they rely on, and I just think she fits the bill perfectly," Baldermann said.

Kenny will fill the vacancy for a two-year term, at the end of which she will be up for election for a four-year term, Baldermann told Patch.

“This is something that I could only imagine in my dreams," Kenny told the board after being sworn in by Baldermann. "Because I am such a community-oriented person, I just think this is the bee's knees, if you will. So, thank you mayor, thank you trustees, for inviting me to the board.”

Kenny and her husband, Ryan, have two daughters: Audrianna, 8, and Quinn, 6. Her husband is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.