At its meeting on Tuesday, the Kane County Board remembered former member Dale Berman, who passed away earlier this month, and took the first step to filling the now-vacant seat on the board.
Berman died on Oct. 2 at the age of 91, according to past reporting. The former four-term village president of North Aurora had been representing District 2 on the Kane County Board since 2021 after being elected to the post in November 2020. He was also the current chair of the board’s Finance Committee.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog remembered Berman’s time on the board, pointing to his taking on the role during the COVID-19 pandemic, and called him “a mayor, a volunteer, an incredible father and a devoted husband and an experienced public servant.”
“He served actively even during his illness,” Pierog said of Berman, “with his laptop at his side, listening and reviewing the issues brought forward to the board.”
She called him a “true moderate” who sought “the right answer to complex issues, not just an expedient or political one.”
“In a polarized … world, his voice often served as a bridge, fostering dialogue, understanding and compromise,” Pierog said on Tuesday.
In addition to an honor guard joining on Tuesday to honor Berman, state Rep. Matt Hanson, D-Aurora, spoke at the meeting.
“Everyone knows Dale,” Hanson said at the meeting, pointing to Berman’s family, his work as an elected official in North Aurora and Kane County and more. “And I know that because I’ve knocked on a lot of doors, I’ve spoken to a lot of people within our community, within my district and the area.”
And Hanson said that there was “always heart in everything that (Berman) governed and … the decisions he made.”
Later on during Tuesday’s meeting, the county board passed a resolution to declare a vacancy for the District 2 seat.
At the meeting, Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney John Frank explained that the board chair makes an appointment for the seat, which must then go on to be approved by the full board. How the selection process goes about, Frank said, is up to the board chair, but in the past has been decided via a subcommittee.
On Tuesday, Pierog said that the county had notified the Democratic and Republican parties about the position and that, because Berman was a Democrat, a Democrat would have to be selected to fill the seat. She said that, following the declaration of the vacancy, which occurred on Tuesday, the county will put out a call for applications for the post.
The individual selected for the District 2 seat must be approved by Dec. 1, according to Pierog. That person will serve until the next general election, which will take place on Nov. 3, 2026. At that point, the appointed individual can choose whether to run in the election to serve out the remainder of Berman’s term, Pierog said, which extends through 2028.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
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