PROVEN LEADERSHIP:

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I have had the honor and privilege to serve the residents of the Village of Wayne for thirty years.  I first ran as Trustee for the Wayne Village Board in 1993 where I was one of seven candidates for three open seats and received the highest number of votes.  During my term, then Village President Ed Berry encouraged me to run for Village President.  I was fortunate enough to have his and my fellow Board members’ support and encouragement, and successfully ran for Village President in 1995.
One of the top items on my list of things to accomplish was to build relationships with my fellow Mayors, our County Board (both DuPage and Kane), State and Federal Representatives. As a result of these relationships, the benefits for our community have been many and include securing funding for several major projects in our village that would not have otherwise been possible to accomplish.

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With the support and participation of the Village Board, some of those accomplishments include:

 

• Locating and building a regional approach to traffic over the Fox River at Stearns Road

• Negotiating jurisdictional transfer of Army Trail Road from the county line East to Munger Road, giving Wayne control of Army Trail Road from Route 25 East to Dunham Road and from the county line East to Munger Road. This ensures that Army Trail Road cannot be widened through our town.

• Developing a close working relationship with the City of West Chicago to provide salt storage for our Public Works.

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Utilizing Grants we obtained, our Village was able to:

 

• Upgrade drainage within the old village

• Replace sidewalks and add street lights

• Fund resurfacing projects for Smith and Army Trail Roads

• Building our Public Works Building

• Securing funding for additional drainage issues in Lake Eleanor 

• Securing funding for our Village Hall and Police Department

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Additional accomplishments by our Village Board can be found elsewhere on this website

About Me:

 

In 1978 we purchased our first home in what was then unincorporated St. Charles. In 1989, working with the Village of Wayne, my family and I led the annexation efforts that brought over 20 properties (including ours) into Wayne helping to block a direct connection from the west side of the river to Army Trail Road.  
We raised our three children in Wayne and have been blessed with three grandchildren who fortunately love coming out to Wayne.
In pursuit of furthering my education, I studied the Russian language for over three years and, while a bit rusty, can both speak and understand Russian.
I am President of our family owned, custom injection molding company in Elgin.  During the Pandemic, we worked around the clock producing PPE which was then shipped throughout the United States to help combat the spread of COVID.
I have represented the Village as a member of the Legislative Committee with the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, served as President of the DuKane Valley Council (now MetroWest), and currently serve on the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association Board of Directors.  In 2009 I was honored to be chosen Wayne Citizen of the Year.
In 2019 the Village Board, recognizing the historic ties between our two cities where Mark Dunham traveled many times to purchase his Percheron horses, chose to become a Sister City to Nogent Le-Rotrou, France.

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I traveled, along with Wayne Historic Preservation Society founders Dave and Karen Armbrust at our own expense to France to present our Resolution to the Mayor of Nogent cementing the importance of these ties.
One of the highlights of 2022 was the successful search and subsequent hiring of Wayne Chief of Police Tim Roberts.  Being included along with Trustee Ed Hull to witness the various interviews and role-playing exercises all the well qualified candidates (finalists) participated in showcased the outstanding abilities to lead and professionalism that Tim Roberts would bring to our village. Tim was the consensus choice as the top candidate and was rated the highest of all the finalists by the three very capable and experienced police chiefs who conducted the day long interview/role playing process. 

Tim has done an incredible job in working with Trustee Pete Connolly to bring our Wayne Police Department to the position of being fully staffed with quality officers and providing 24 hour coverage to our residents.  With the addition of a Community Service Officer, we can continue to provide the vacation watch program and other opportunities for true Community Policing that our residents deserve and enjoy.
Under my administration, with the support and participation of an outstanding Village Board and staff; including Trustees Pete Connolly and Ed Hull, we have been successful in our goal of preserving the historic, equestrian Village of Wayne that we are proud to call home.
There is still more work to be done and I am excited for the opportunity to continue to serve my fellow Wayne residents.

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Eileen Phipps as Village President Public Works Improvements to Help Residents

The Board recently hired Tommy King as our head of Public Works. This hiring was part of our ongoing efforts to improve the Public Works service for Village residents. Tommy has 30+ years of experience as a Public Works professional.  Tommy got right to work and has made significant positive differences in the relatively short time he's been here.  He has hired an experienced staff, instituted regular garbage clean-up, shoulder work, pothole repairs, and snow plowing. He and his staff have been installing sign upgrades (including breakaway posts to increase safety) and have been addressing the curve on Powis Rd with the to be placed road edge markers, and warning lights.  Tommy has been a great addition to the Village and we look forward to many years of his service and dedication to improving Wayne.