When Maddie Kelly was wrapping up her time at Mother McAuley Library Arts High School, she had no idea where to go from there. She knew she loved sports and the outdoors, but she had no interest in becoming a physical education teacher.
Someone suggested she look into the parks program at the University of Illinois. The educational track was relatively new in the 1970s, but she took a chance, applied and got into the school. Everything just clicked from there for the lifelong South Sider.
“I loved every class I took,” she said.
She loved them so much that, after earning a bachelor’s degree in leisure studies, she continued her studies at Michigan State University, where she obtained a master’s degree in parks and recreation administration.
Even then, she never would have guessed that decades later, on Sept. 14, she would find herself retiring from a 30-year career with the Oak Lawn Park District, 25 years of it at the helm.
She began her career as a facility supervisor with the Park District of Highland Park. In 1990, she became community pavilion manager at the Oak Lawn Park District and quickly rose to the rank of superintendent of recreation.
“I loved superintendent of recreation,” she said. “It was just a fun position.”
The job gave her variety. It was largely devoid of politics and lacked the type of stresses that come with the role of executive director.
But Kelly was ambitious in other ways.
“At the time, they were very status quo,” she said. “And I had a lot of ideas.”
They did not go unnoticed.
When the park board and its director stopped seeing eye-to-eye 25 years ago, Kelly said she was tapped to take over. She wasted little time getting to work.
“Our parks are beautiful,” Kelly said. “I can’t say that they were when I started here.”
Among the changes she is implemented was taking an old gym at the Oak View Center and turning it into what has become a “state-of-the-art theater,” though it was not necessarily a popular decision. Also unpopular among district residents: her decision to bring gymnastics to what was previously a dedicated racquet club on Central Avenue.
“Very controversial,” Kelly recalled. “They wanted to kill us.”
But Kelly pursued what she thought would be right for the district in the long run and learned some valuable lessons about community relations along the way. She said most residents just want their leadership to be honest, up front about costs and informative when it comes to how these projects will serve them.
“You just have a lot of meetings with people, and you listen to them,” Kelly said.
She also learned how to work on a budget. The 1970s and ’80s, when Kelly was just getting involved in the field, were the Wild West for parks. Money abounded.
But in the early ’90s, the districts became subject to tax caps. Kelly said Oak Lawn had to work under a $300,000 capital projects budget for years.
“For a district of this size, that’s ridiculous,” she said. “Whenever there was grant money available, we went for it right away.”
Those grants largely helped to renovate parks and playgrounds, while improving infrastructure. During Kelly’s time, the park district also built the Stony Creek Golf Course and clubhouse. But she is particularly proud of the district’s prairie at 105th Street and Menard Avenue.
Years ago, part of it was used for dumping, Kelly said. Its 12.8 acres technically fall within the boundaries of Chicago Ridge. But the Oak Lawn Park District purchased the land and restored it to Illinois Nature Preserve status.
Today, it is one of only three gravel-based mesic prairies left in Illinois, according to the park district’s website. Several species of endangered and unusual plants and insects call it home.
“It’s an awesome site,” Kelly said. “We preserved a prairie, which is unheard of.”
And Kelly said despite pushback on some major changes, residents have generally come around to how the parks system has evolved.
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“Oak Lawn people are wonderful, and they’re very supportive of the park district,” she said.
The past few months have undoubtedly been difficult, with the COVID-19 pandemic requiring a revamped approach to programming and a tough look at budgets.
“I cut myself out of the budget,” Kelly quipped when talking about her retirement.
“COVID right now has just knocked everybody off their feet,” she said. “It’s very difficult. We’re trying to provide services for people.”
While taxpayers generally want to see their money at work — and Kelly would argue parks are essential to people’s well-being — some are now angry about anything the district elects to reopen. There is no pleasing everyone in 2020, she said.
“You’re walking a thin line,” she explained. “I’m not going to miss this climate right now.”
But the pandemic is not the only reason Kelly is bowing out. She has family that moved out west that she would like to see more when it is safer to travel. And there is another generation of parks enthusiasts ready to move ahead.
“It’s time to hand the baton on,” Kelly said. “It will be nice to just go on vacation and not think about work.”
Kelly hopes to hand that baton to Tom Hartwig, the district’s superintendent of special facilities. The park board was slated to vote on his appointment Monday night.
Hartwig has been with the Oak Lawn Park District for 22 years, and Kelly said she cannot think of a better person to assume the role.
“He’s just so into this field and the Oak Lawn Park District,” she said.
Hartwig interned with the park district while he attended Illinois State University. He came back to work as an assistant manager in 1998. He is excited about the prospect of taking the reins.
“I realized we have challenges ahead, and they’re going to be big challenges,” he said. “We have a good group in place to get through it.”
Hartwig also said he comes into a much different role than Kelly did 25 years ago, thanks to the foundation she laid. Now, it is more about taking the wheel and maintaining the trajectory.
“I’m really lucky I get to step into something that’s running well,” Hartwig said. “There’s no need to make big corrections. I hope to keep going in that direction.”
Still, it is a bittersweet transition for Hartwig, who said he learned a lot from the way Kelly managed parks. She was never the type to bark orders to staff; she liked to give people the space to learn and grow on the job.
“For 22 years, it always felt like working with Maddie, not for Maddie,” Hartwig said. “She’s always been a great role model. The culture of this park district is more like a family.
“It’s strange. It’s really hard to imagine she’s no longer going to be managing here.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.