Local News

Newcomer joins two incumbents on H-F Park District board

Christina Farley Jackson is set to become an elected official after winning a two-year term as a commissioner for the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District on Tuesday, April 4.
 
She will be joining Brent Bachus, who was elected to a six-year term, and Dallas Collins, who was re-elected for a second six-year term. 
 
The three will be sworn in to office at the park board’s May 16 meeting.
 
Their victories also mean the conclusion of 12 years of service by Bob Haderlein, the board president, who decided not to run for a third term. He said stepping down from the board “is bittersweet, but you have to know when it’s time to go. And, I’ve loved it.”
 
The five-member board also includes Commissioners Steve Johnson and Debbie Dennison.
 
“The park district provides a strong backbone for our community,” Farley Jackson said. She thanked voters for their support, adding: “I am excited and humbled to contribute my skills, passion and time to the board.”
 
Farley Jackson, an attorney, is a Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate. She is the mother of two young children.
 
Collins will serve her second term on the board. She served on the Leisure Services Committee before being elected to the board.
 
“I think it’s exciting to have the next six years to see what we can tackle next,” she said. Although budgets are tight, Collins believes “you have to dream big sometimes and ask ‘What does this community really want? And, ‘Where is the direction?’”
 
She sees the park district “meeting the demands of the community (on) where they want to recreate and have fun.”
 
Bachus was appointed a year ago to fill an unexpired term on the board and decided to run for a full six-year term in this election. After nearly a year on the board, Bachus said his insights will help him “work through a balancing act: best top-notch programs for our community balanced with fiscal responsibility. I think we’ve done a very nice job with that. 
 
“We have some big ticket items on our agenda as it relates to the racquet club, and as it relates to the ice arena,” he explained, “but I feel like we’ve got the right folks involved.”  
 
Bachus said he will support “flexibility with our programs and facilities” to allow staff and the board to be innovative and creative.

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