Statement on Resignation of Trustee Susan Buchanan
Published on May 08, 2025
The Village of Oak Park has learned that Susan Buchanan has resigned her position as Village Trustee, effective May 8, 2025.
During Trustee Buchanan’s tenure she helped the Village navigate a number of critical issues. As part of the COVID-19 pandemic she provided an important voice for leadership given her background as a medical doctor who focuses on preventative medicine and public health. She also assisted the Oak Park Public Health Department’s vaccination efforts as a volunteer with the Village’s Medical Reserve Corps.
Trustee Buchanan consistently elevated conversations about sustainability and helped champion the adoption of the Oak Park Climate Plan in 2022. She also supported the Village’s response to assist asylum seeking migrants who arrived in Oak Park in 2023.
Under state statute, it is the role of the Village President to nominate a replacement within 60 days. The Village Board then has 30 days to act on the nomination.
The Village of Oak Park operates under the Village Manager form of government, in which an elected Village Board president, Vicki Scaman, and six trustees set policy and hire a professional manager, Kevin J. Jackson, to oversee the day-to-day operations of government services and programs.
All Village of Oak Park elected officials serve four-year terms on a staggered cycle, with a municipal election held the first Tuesday in April of years ending with an odd number. Trustee Buchanan was re-elected to the Village Board in April 2023. Her second term expires in April 2027. Trustees Brian Straw and Cory Wesley are currently at the mid-point of their terms, elected in 2023. Scaman, Trustees Chibuike Enyia, Jenna Leving Jacobson and James J. Taglia took the oath of office on May 6 to begin new four-year terms.
For more information about the Village Board, please visit www.oak-park.us/board.
About Oak Park- The Village of Oak Park, located just nine miles west of downtown Chicago, offers a distinctive urban/suburban lifestyle in a thriving, multi-cultural community. Well-known for progressive values, tree-lined streets and bustling business districts, Oak Park serves as an ideal place to live, work and play. As a longstanding community of choice, the Village benefits from convenient access to local and regional transit, high-quality public schools, and arts and cultural attractions, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio and his acclaimed Unity Temple, which was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.