The door into secretive send-offs swung both ways in Naperville’s council chambers Tuesday night.
The City Council, meeting for the last time in its current configuration, presented outgoing Mayor A. George Pradel with a surprise commendation marking his 20 years in the city’s top office — but not before the affable mayor lauded his colleagues on the dais with a surprise proclamation of his own.
“I’ve gone through five different councils, and each one gets better and better,” he said before calling the seven present council members up individually to run down the contributions each has made to the city and then present each with a commemorative plaque.
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“Thanks to a wonderful council! Give ’em a big hand!” he said.
Mayor-elect Steve Chirico followed up, showing a video of Congressman Bill Foster, D-Naperville, reading a resolution Tuesday on the Capitol floor honoring Pradel’s long public service career that the lawmaker said “will never be forgotten” — bringing the chamber to its feet.
Chirico noted the difficulty of following Pradel and Foster, introducing a council proclamation that was read in succession, with each council member reading a portion beginning with a “whereas” that defines every official council resolution — and presenting the outgoing official with his own plaque.
“All I can say is it’s a wonderful feeling to be the mayor of such a wonderful city and wonderful, wonderful people,” said Pradel, who a few minutes earlier had entered to a standing ovation and hearty applause from the packed chamber.
Five council members, Bob Fieseler, Doug Krause, Joe McElroy, Tom Miers and David Wentz, put in final appearances for their current tenure at Tuesday’s business meeting. Fieseler chose not to run for a third council term, while Krause – who was out of town and didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting – made an unsuccessful run for the mayor’s office against Chirico and two other candidates. McElroy and Wentz fell short as well in their bids for new terms. Miers, appointed in January to complete Grant Wehrli’s unfinished term after Wehrli took his place in the state House, did not run.
Set to return to the council after the swearing-in ceremony scheduled on May 3 are incumbents Judy Brodhead and Paul Hinterlong. They will be joined by Kevin Gallaher, who previously sat on the dais from 1995 to 2002, and council newcomers Becky Anderson, Rebecca Boyd-Obarski, Kevin Coyne, Patty Gustin, and John Krummen.
Chirico said he expected some nostalgia at the longtime mayor’s final meeting.
“I think the mayor, it’s finally hitting home with him. I think he’s ready for it,” said Chirico, who plans to uphold Pradel’s traditional focus on teamwork, collaboration and an “open office” policy. “He’s certainly been so helpful. We’ve been meeting every day, talking about transitions.”
Long known for turning up at a vast array of community events, Pradel is unlikely to vanish once he officially steps down in a week and a half.
“Certainly I would appreciate if he would be an ambassador through the mayor’s office,” said Chirico, who has made it clear he won’t have the same daily omnipresence as his predecessor. “It’s something that he does so well.”