Jerry Hicks of Marseilles is leaving the LaSalle County Board after a presence of 24 years—half of them as its chairman and 20 of them as a board member. He was the last chairman appointed by the board in 2006 and the first elected by voters when the county changed the selection method in 2008. He resigned from the position in 2019, a few months after regaining his board seat from a challenger who won it in 2014.
During a goodbye speech Wednesday, Hicks talked about board members he knew in the earlier days. The late John Janko told Hicks a story about retirement. A friend of Janko’s called retirement the metallic age, when you have silver in your hair, gold in your teeth, and lead [elsewhere].
Hicks lost an election in a newly redrawn district this year. He’s leaving along with Randy Freeman of Lostant, who ran against Hicks for chairman and lost in 2008. Freeman says the people who work hard for the county and do great work all the time make the county board a great place to be.
Freeman didn’t run for reelection. He represented southwest LaSalle County for 20 years.
The other departing board members are Robert Lee, Allen Erbrederis, Chuck Borchsenius, Curt Faber, Thomas Green, Jerry Myers, and Elmer Walter.
File photo of LaSalle County Board member Randy Freeman
File photo of LaSalle County Board member and former Chairman Jerry Hicks