Park Forest Mayor Jon Vanderbilt has withdrawn his name as a candidate for reelection in April, allowing Village Trustee Joe Woods a clear field to the election.
Vanderbilt took himself off the ballot in both Cook and Will counties last week.
“I love Park Forest and the people that live here, it’s a special place”” he wrote in a Facebook post Thursday evening. “I’ve given the residents 110 percent for the past 6 years. In that time I’ve lost a lot of relatives. After my father passing about a year ago my boys need more of my time and not less. Once re-elected I would have less not more time with my family.”
When reached for comment, Vanderbilt said a recent “dental emergency” for one of his three children caused him to spend more time with his family.
“I was pretty much the only male figure” since the death of both his father and father-in-law, he said.
Vanderbilt, whose company, Mr. Fourth of July Construction, ranges from erecting structures to pyrotechnic displays, said he loved Park Forest, but without the burden of the role of mayor, “I can be a human being.”
“I want to coach my boys’ sports teams not sit on the sidelines on the phone,” he wrote in his Facebook post. “It’s been a joy to serve the village that raised me.”
Vanderbilt missed the first forum by the Park Forest Non-Partisan Committee in January because he was working in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He last attended a Village Board meeting Jan. 3.
His last public appearance as mayor was at the annual Fire Department award ceremony earlier this month, and he has been missing from a number of village events in recent weeks.
Village Manager Tom Mick said Vanderbilt informed him of his decision late last week.
“The job of village mayor is stressful,” Mick said, adding it is difficult for anyone to balance family responsibility, a full business work schedule and a public persona as mayor. “I thank him and commend him for his years of public service to the residents of Park Forest.”
The decision not to run for mayor came a little more than three months after his numerous political yard signs popped up throughout the village.
In recent days, or about the time Vanderbilt let it be known he was withdrawing, two candidates for village trustee, Randall White and Joshua Travis, used Vanderbilt’s social media pages to promote their candidacies.
Vanderbilt was first elected a village trustee 2017 and won a contested race for mayor two years later. He was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Woods said he was stunned to learn of Vanderbilt’s decision and wished him well.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.