2 Appointments Bring Skokie Park District Board Back To Full Strength

SKOKIE, IL — After operating short-handed for five months, the Skokie Park District board is back to full strength with the appointment of a pair of new commissioners.

Antonia Kasalo-Terihaj and Courtney Williams were selected to fill vacancies created by the resignations of Mary Oshana and Minal Desai from the five-member board.

Both Kasalo-Terihaj and Williams were installed at its April 16 meeting, and both of their seats will be up for election next year.

Oshana stepped down after she announced at the board's Nov. 21 meeting that she had moved out of the village. The district posted a vacancy and accepted applications through Feb. 20.

Desai resigned to take the full-time position of Skokie village clerk, taking the oath of office on April 15.

During five special meetings in March and April, commissioners interviewed "many" village residents before deciding on Kasalo-Terihaj and Williams district staff announced.

Who are the new commissioners?

Kasalo-Terihaj is a lifelong Skokie resident whose parents immigrated from Croatia in the 1960s.

A former employee of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kasalo-Terihaj manages projects, budgets and communications for a Chicago-based interior design firm, according to district staff.

Kasalo-Terihaj organizes drives for the homeless, block parties and charity events in her spare time, and she and her four children are regular users of park district programs and facilities.

Williams, who has lived in Skokie for 10 years, is a former journalist who has also worked for Exelon and Northwestern University's business school.

Currently, she is the communications director for the Obama Foundation, managing all its messaging and arranging speaking engagements for the former president and first lady.

Williams, a former board member of Chicago's Pride Arts and Chicago Canine recue, plays tennis and pickleball in park district leagues.

According to the Illinois Park District Code, when a commissioner's seat is vacated, the other members of the board have 60 days to fill it. After that, the responsibility moves to the board president. And if there is no president to take action, the vice president is empowered to fill the vacancy.

The process differs from a vacant school board seat. If a school board fails to appoint a successor after 45 days, the county-level regional superintendent of schools is responsible for doing so.