After more than 40 years of public service, Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen is packing up his office and embarking on a new adventure: retirement. In an interview with NBC Chicago, he shared the highs and lows of his career, including his work to combat antisemitism and promote tolerance.
The first test of Van Dusen's mayoral career came a few months after he took office in 1999 when Northwestern basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong was murdered in a racially motivated killing spree.
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WATCH HERE"The fact that somebody could get shot walking down a Skokie street with his two children was terrifying," Van Dusen said.
Another tense time came the following year when the Klu Klux Klan came to Skokie. Nowadays, a big challenge has been combating the surge in antisemitism following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
"It's hard to describe the pain that Jewish people feel. I think for many of us, it was very unexpected," Van Dusen said.
Van Dusen is retiring after 26 years as mayor and 15 years as trustee. He also previously worked for a congressman. He still keeps a close eye on Washington and said he is concerned about the Trump administration's mass deportation policies.
"Going after people based solely on the color of their skin, their origin, where they came from: That's completely contrary to what the country is. We're a nation of immigrants," he said.
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He didn't hesitate three years ago when Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker asked Skokie to take in 35 migrant families. During his tenure, a new holocaust museum was built in Skokie, Old Orchard Mall was reimagined and the Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line was extended.
"When we were working on our downtown revitalization and creating the Illinois Science and Technology Park, I thought we needed a downtown station. It took 10 years, but we accomplished it," he said.
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SIGN UP Van Dusen will step down on Monday and Ann Tennes will be sworn in. He said she'll be faced with replacing thousands of lead lines, plus upgrading a flood control system. As for Van Dusen, he plans to write a mystery thriller in retirement.
