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Lincolnwood mayor puts retirement aside, plans to seek third term
Lincolnwood Mayor Jerry Turr, shown in this November file photo, announced Friday that her has reversed his decision to retire, and will seek a third term. | File photo
Updated: February 25, 2013 2:21AM
LINCOLNWOOD — After declaring in October that he would not seek a third term in office, Lincolnwood Mayor Jerry Turry reversed that decision Friday, saying he will run again this spring.
The former village trustee – he served on the board for a decade before becoming mayor in 2004 – said he experienced a change of heart during the two months since announcing his decision to retire, partly due to numerous requests he received from residents urging him to reconsider his decision.
“Every time I did something for what I thought would be the last time, I’d think about it and it would start to weigh on me,” Turry said. “I thought, ‘I’ll miss doing this.’”
Turry said last fall he felt the time was right to retire, and he was planning to spend extra time with Nancy, his wife of 45 years, while dedicating more time and energy into volunteer work at Misericordia Home, a group home that serves developmentally disabled adults, including his own 34-year-old daughter.
Yet, after mulling over the decision with his wife and receiving her full support to continue his reign as mayor, the 68-year-old father of three decided to reverse that decision and put his retirement plans on hold for another four years.
“I realized after making my announcement that there is still much more to do to improve our village and to preserve it as a desirable place to live and work,” Turry said in a press release. “I would feel a deep sense of disappointment if I could not continue to lead that effort for another term, and I hope voters will continue to support me as they have in the past.”
The rebuilding of the Purple Hotel and a potential gas aggregation plan for the village are two major issues Turry said he would like to remain involved in as mayor.
On Sunday, Turry will meet with Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, to discuss a possible aggregation plan, which basically allows residents to choose to stay with the power company contracted under their municipality or opt out and sign up with the power provider of their choice.
There’s no aggregation legislation on the table in Lincolnwood, but Turry said it was a possibility in the near future.
“This is all very new, and I get a charge out of being on the cutting edge of things,” Turry said.
Challengers Georgia Talaganis filed her nominating papers on Dec. 17. Peter Moy filed his nominating papers for mayor on Dec. 26.
