Some urging by friends and neighbors several years ago turned into a three-term, 12-year run as Oak Brook Village President for Gopal Lalmalani.
And now, after deciding to not seek reelection again, Lalmalani is in the home stretch of his tenure as Oak Brook’s top elected official.
“The reason I chose not to run this time was because I genuinely want to spend more time with my family, including my wife, kids and grandkids,” Lalmalani said. “I committed an enormous amount of time and energy the past 12 years to serving as Village President. This was in addition to my full-time work as a cardiologist.”
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When he first sought election in 2011 as Village President, Lalmalani never considered that he would end his run 12 years later.
“When I first ran, I was up against an incumbent with a long history in Oak Brook politics,” he said. “All I was focused on at that time was winning my first election.”
It was while serving on the village’s Plan Commission that Lalmalani first became involved in serving Oak Brook.
“In 2010, while serving on the Plan Commission, I became concerned about the direction the village was going and the growing influence of Cook County at the Village Hall,” he said. “Oak Brook was then often in the news, all for the wrong reason. My neighbors and friends felt I could do a better job leading the village, and they encouraged me to run.”
As for seeking reelection twice, Lalmalani felt his way along in each term before deciding to run again.
“Serving as a Village President is a journey, not a destination,” he said, “I felt Oak Brook needed continuity and commitment. I loved the challenges.”
The commitment Lalmalani felt was needed during his tenure as Village President was greater than he initially thought would be the case.
“I didn’t anticipate that it would be as challenging and time consuming, but I enjoyed tackling the challenges,” he said. “I did expect to have the opportunity to work with people who loved the village as much as I did and committed to keeping it safe, well-run, and prosperous.”
Lalmalani said each of his four-year terms was noticeably different for him.
“My first term, we were trying to right the ship and implement reforms,” he said. “There were bad actors on the Village Board, lawsuits and personal agendas. We had put out a big fire by the end of my first term.
“By the second term, we were establishing a base for growth and fixed a lot of deficiencies, for example, in the zoning and building codes, and we finished the master plan. That second term is when big businesses and developments came back.”
During his third term, the COVID-19 pandemic offered considerably more challenges.
“I’m proud of how we worked to protect our residents,” Lalmalani said. “Our financial stability grew, but our processes still needed to be improved.
“Several new board members came in nearly two years ago, and with (board member) Larry Herman’s leadership, we have new budgeting policies that have substantially improved our village’s future. This is the best it has been for me in Oak Brook. There is something to be said about going out on top.”
Village Manager Greg Summers said the things that made Lalmalani a strong leader in the community were threefold.
“More than anything, President Lalmalani firmly believed in a government by, for, and of, the people,” Summers said, “To that end, President Lalmalani brought back the Homeowners Association President meetings as a direct line of feedback from those closest to the residents.
“Furthermore, he made himself available to all residents and businesses of the community, directly responding to countless calls, text messages, and social media posts.
“Finally, President Lalmalani has embraced his role as the great healer, always seeking to use his role to unify the community on issues. Rather than create division whenever disagreement arouse, President Lalmalani always sought the mutual benefit to be found in the middle. The consistent and direct lines of communication developed over his 12 years in office will be hard to replace, and will be missed by many.”
Longtime Village Board member Michael Manzo had a similar take.
“President Lalmalani has always fully embraced his role as the great unifier,” Manzo said. “I always supported President Lalmalani over our 12 years together because of his passionate goal of unifying the community by listening and solving problems.
“Even at times where we disagreed I always stayed loyal because even if we did not agree on how to get to an end, we always agreed on the outcome, — our mutual mission to put our community first and make Oak Brook a wonderful place to live and conduct business.”
Another longtime board member, Asif Yusuf, said he appreciated Lalmalani’s commitment to the village.
“Although we have seen some things differently over the last few years, I have only the kindest wishes for him as he retires from public service,” Yusuf said. “It is a major commitment for anyone who steps forward to serve.”
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As he moves on to a new chapter in his life, Lalmalani said he will greatly miss the many good people he has interacted with to move Oak Brook forward.”
“I will miss our hardworking and faithful trustees and our great staff,” he said. “All the good things that have happened in past 12 years is a result of the great teamwork. I’ve loved every minute of the past 12 years. This service of serving as Village President has been the greatest honor of my life, and I feel most grateful to our residents for this opportunity to serve them.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.