Re-elect Peter Connolly as Village Trustee
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Village of Wayne Trustee – 28 years
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Public Safety, trustee oversight 20 years
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Also Finance, Benefits, Former Administration, Park Commission
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The Conservation Foundation – Board 12 years, Finance Committee
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Little Home Church – member, Church Council (Stewardship)
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Former Riding Member of Wayne-DuPage Hunt – 20 years
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J.P. Morgan Chase – VP Commercial Lending 34 years
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Provided knowledge/support small to medium size businesses
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Managed departments and developed young talent
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Northwest Suburban Association of Commerce and Industry
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Former President, 1000+ firm organization HQ Schaumburg
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Degree in Finance – Wright State University
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Named Wayne’s Citizen of the Year in 2016
I became a Trustee because I love Wayne:
It has been an honor serving the residents of Wayne for the past 28 years as Village Trustee and I believe it is important to continue to provide my history, experience, and reasoned approach to the Village. Shortly after we moved to Wayne 30 years ago, I was approached by two long-time residents to run for the Village Board. I indicated I did not want to be a politician; they countered by asking me “why did I move to Wayne.” I responded that my wife and I enjoyed the open space, the historic buildings, the equestrian heritage, and lack of commercial development. They indicated that Wayne was not political and that residents felt the number one responsibility of the town’s elected officials was to “Preserve and Protect Wayne.” I was hooked, how could I say no to that. So I ran for election.
My Professional Background adds value to the Village of Wayne Board:
My background includes a degree in Finance, followed by six years as a Federal Bank Examiner and 34 years in Commercial Banking managing and developing young talent and providing knowledge and financial support to small and medium size businesses. I have retired from JPMorgan Chase but continue serving on Wayne’s Board.
Volunteer Service is important to me:
Since 2011 I have also been on the Board and Finance Committee of The Conservation Foundation, one of the region’s oldest and largest not-for-profit land and watershed conservation organizations which has helped to preserve more than 35,000 acres. The Conservation Foundation has facilitated donations or holds the conservation right and easement on several large properties in Wayne to ensure their natural character. I have also been a member of the Little Home Church Council for the past five years, was an early volunteer in restoring the historic Depot and rode with the Wayne-DuPage Hunt for 20 years.
What I’ve learned and why I serve:
I truly believe that during all the years I have served, with a lot of dedicated Trustees, that preserving and protecting our rural environment, heritage and traditions has been a top priority. During this time however, I have learned that you cannot take anything for granted. Wayne would not have maintained its unique characteristics without constant vigilance by the Village Board and residents. This is not just a priority with our long-time residents, it is the reason why many of our newer residents decided to make Wayne their home. Numerous specific steps taken over the years to accomplish this goal are listed elsewhere on this site as joint accomplishments rather than detailed here.
I am a proud advocate for our Police Department: As the Trustee in charge of Public Safety, our resident’s personal and home protection, and traffic have always been high priorities. Wayne remains a safe Village as our Police officers patrol all our streets throughout the day and night and the home vacation watches the Department provides continue to be a well appreciated benefit. Traffic accidents at Army Trail and Powis get a lot of attention, but have steadily decreased with the additional signage and visibility work that started 3 years ago which has reduced accidents from 13 in 2019, to 10 to 8 in the subsequent years and to 6 in 2022. There is always additional work to be done, but progress is a sign of consistent efforts to improve the safety of the intersection.
For the past 10 years, the Village had a staffing strategy that primarily relied on retired part-time officers, and it worked well - providing our residents with fully trained experience officers while reducing the Village’s future pension payment by millions – a direct savings to the taxpayers of Wayne. Beginning with the pandemic and further affected by changes in State law, the supply of part-time officers reduced throughout the area. Reacting to this challenge, the Village Board made a commitment to hire the most qualified Chief of Police during our search process to replace our retiring Chief. This resulted in the hiring of Wayne resident Tim Roberts. His first-hand knowledge of Wayne coupled with the necessary skills honed by 26 years of progressive policing experience made Tim the perfect choice and he has already exceeded our high expectations. The Village Board also approved a significant increase in police payroll that has enabled Tim to hire full-time officers and increase the hours back to historic levels. This has resulted in increased traffic enforcement that has met with overwhelming positive feedback from our residents. We are currently doing a public safety survey to get your direct feedback on how we are doing.
Communication with my fellow residents:
I have been available to our residents via phone and email throughout my tenure. I have responded to each person, researching answers, assisting and advising. The Board is working to enhance the Village website to make it easier to navigate and obtain information and hopes most of the work will be completed by Spring. We are however extremely pleased with the launch this year of our Wayne Police Department Facebook. The site provides invaluable information on traffic, safety, how the Police Department is reacting proactively with homeowner associations and residents and generally what is happening in the Department. Over 630 individuals (and counting) are on the page and the feedback from our residents has been overwhelmingly positive.
Public Safety and Village Hall building:
There is also work still to be done as we study the need and options for new space for our Police Department and Village Hall. It is a complex issue that cannot be rushed and whatever the solution, it will be the largest expenditure in the history of the Village. We held a well-attended and well received Town Hall meeting in January on this issue. We will now be studying various building options and budget considerations, which will be followed by an additional Town Hall meeting to keep residents informed and a subsequent village wide Survey to obtain residents’ feedback.
Pete Connolly as Village Trustee Making Public Works Services Better
The Board is always looking for ways to make Village services to our resident better. As a part of that effort, we recently hired Tommy King as our head of Public Works. Tommy comes with 30+ years of experience as a Public Works professional. Tommy has already made substantial positive differences in the short time he's been here. He has hired an experienced staff and went to work identifying ways to improve services for our residents. He and his staff instituted regular garbage clean-up, shoulder work, pothole repairs, and snow plowing. He and his staff have also been installing sign upgrades (including breakaway posts to increase safety) and have been addressing the curve on Powis Rd with improvements such as the to be placed road edge markers, and warning lights. Tommy has been an extremely positive addition to the Village, and we look forward to working with him as we continually improve services to Wayne residents.