Mayor Rich Hofeld took the oath of office at the Homewood village board meeting on May 13 after being elected eight consecutive times.
Re-elected trustees Lauren Roman, Vivian Harris-Jones and Phillip Mason also took the oath office. Associate Cook County Circuit Court Judge Barbara Dawkins, a former trustee, administered the oaths.
Patrick Siemsen was sworn in as the new trustee in Allisa Opyd’s place on the board. Opyd did not run for reelection. Siemsen has been a resident of Homewood for over 20 years. He formerly served as a police and tactical officer, and as a patrol and detective sergeant for the Homewood police.
“I did 26 years serving this community through the police department prior to retiring and I’m looking forward to furthering my service with a professional team and to continue to help the community grow,” Trustee Siemsen said.
From left, Judge Barbara Dawkins administers the oath of office to trustees Phil Mason, Lauren Roman, Vivian Harris-Jones and Patrick Siemsen at the May 13 Homewood board meeting. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
A farewell was given by Trustee Opyd who has served the board since 2023 and previously was on staff as the village events manager.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have worked with all of you for such a long time. Thank you so much, I feel truly, truly, blessed to have had that opportunity,” Opyd said, adding, “I encourage now to the residents to stay engaged now that the election is over with, this is where you still need to lean in.”
Village Clerk Marilyn Thomas, who served for 10 years, also gave a bittersweet farewell, with Nakina Flores now taking on the role.
“It has been a privilege to serve as clerk. Congratulations to those of you who have won the election, and I’m sure you will be in capable hands with your new clerk, Nakina Flores,” Thomas said.
“Congratulations to all the trustees, I’m looking forward to working with you all. We have good things ahead of us, and we’ll get them done,” Hofeld said.
