The Western Springs Village Board on Monday unanimously approved the appointment of longtime resident D. Scott Lewis to fill a board vacancy created by the recent death of William Siffermann.
Lewis, 64, was chosen from a group of three candidates who were interviewed for the board opening. Siffermann died March 19.
“Scott is very level headed,” Village President Alice Gallagher said Tuesday. “His professional experience will be an added bonus because he knows how the legislature works, and we’re likely going to need to be reaching out more to legislators, both at the state and national levels.”
Lewis is now retired, but is the former vice president of governmental relations for Nicor Gas.
“I worked quite a bit with various government officials in my job, and that experience is tied to my interest in the village board,” said Lewis, who has spent the past six years on the Western Springs Infrastructure Commission. “Public service is a great thing, and I really am interested in this because I want to give back to the community.”
Lewis said his focus as a board member will be to do what he can to help residents maintain a good quality of life.
“I don’t have a particular axe to grind, so focusing on quality of life issues so that Western Springs continues as a great place to raise a family, and basic infrastructure, are very important to me,” he said.
The term Lewis has filled expires in a year, and at this point he said he likely will run in 2021 for a four-year term.
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Gallagher said she believes all three candidates interviewed for the board opening would do a good job.
“Scott’s job experience was what most separated him from the others,” she said.
Lewis, who has an MBA from DePaul University, has been married to Ann for 38 years, and the couple has two daughters, Margaret, 29, and Mary, 27.