This Elmhurst Woman Is Mayor's Political Mentor

Elmhurst IL

03 March, 2021

8:45 AM

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ELMHURST, IL — In honoring a former alderwoman Monday, Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley called her his political mentor. He said before he was elected to the City Council 14 years ago, his political mentors were his stepfather, Gene Hoffman, and then-Mayor Thomas Marcucci. "Once I became an elected official, I can tell you who my political mentor was when it came to getting the job done. It was Susan Rose. I learned so much from Susan," the mayor said at a City Council meeting. Rose was an alderwoman representing the north side's Ward 3 for two decades, leaving the council in 2011. In 2017, Morley appointed Rose to the Zoning and Planning Commission, which she now heads. The mayor presented Rose the Darrell Whistler Service Award. It is named in honor of the late chairman of the Zoning and Planning Commission, who died in 2017 after serving on the Zoning and Planning Commission since 1969 and heading it since 1974. Among the things that Morley said he learned from Rose was that "rushed policy is bad policy." And he said she could handle debates well. "There was nobody I have served with in my 14 years as an elected official who was better in a heated or contentious debate or discussion to draw us back into focus," said Morley, who is not running for re-election in April. "You could count on Susan to say, 'That's a good point,' even when someone was being a little difficult. She would remind us why were here. She would explain it chapter and verse and completely defuse the room. It would put us all back on target." Rose told the council that she was a social worker when she became an alderwoman in 1991. She said she was glad she was appointed to the council's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee in the 1990s. "Zoning was something I was absolutely fascinated by. I was privileged to chair the committee for 16 years," Rose said. "I would like to thank Mayor Morley for putting me on the zoning commission, where I could indulge my love of zoning." According to a 2011 Patch story, Rose worked with 47 other council members during her two decades. She attended an estimated 1,040 meetings.