Evergreen Park residents will choose a new mayor in the spring, and it’s quite possible their pick will be a state legislator whose district includes the community.

James Sexton, first elected mayor in the spring of 2001, isn’t seeking another term in April and his United Homeowners/Good Government party last month agreed to support state Rep. Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park, to succeed him.

She will head the ticket with Village Clerk Cathy Aparo and Trustees Norm Anderson, Carol Kyle and Mark Phelan.

Burke, a 27-year resident first elected to represent the 36th House District in 2011, said she would continue to serve in the legislature if elected mayor.

Sexton replaced Anthony Vacco, who served for 32 years as mayor. Sexton was a village trustee from 1987 until 1995, and village clerk from 1995 until 2001.

Sexton, 68, said he had discussed with his family a few weeks ago whether to run.

“There are fresher ideas out there,” he said Thursday. “This has been the job of a lifetime, not for a lifetime.”

His three children and their five kids live in Evergreen Park, and Sexton said that stepping down will give him more time to spend with his family.

“The town has been incredibly wonderful to all of us,” he said.

The political party’s officials, including Sexton as chairman, “thought Kelly Burke was the best choice to lead us into the future.”

Sexton joins other incumbent Southland mayors not seeking reelection in April, including Paul Braun in Flossmoor, Jim Holland in Frankfort, Sandra Bury in Oak Lawn and Jacob Vandenberg in Tinley Park.

Burke, 54, is assistant majority leader in the Illinois House. Her district includes all or parts of Chicago communities such as Beverly and Mount Greenwood as well as suburbs including Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn.

She served on the village’s public library board from 2003 until 2011 and was board president from 2005 until 2011. She was elected to the village board in April 2019.

“I have always loved pitching in and working for the betterment of the community,” she said.

Burke said she believes continuing to serve in the General Assembly while also serving as mayor will be beneficial.

“I do think it’s a strength,” she said. “The two roles complement each other.”

Burke said she does not participate in the state pension plan and would not take a pension as mayor.

She said her job as legislator pays about $80,000. Sexton last year received $136,608 in salary and benefits as mayor. The village does not have a manager or village administrator.

“The mayor’s always working,” Burke said.

She said that on days the House is in session she would not be paid for her role as mayor.

Burke worked as an attorney with the Evergreen Park firm Odelson, Sterk, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath Ltd. for just more than two years and she was in private practice for 14 years. She said that she will leave Odelson by the end of this month.

She said that she is not actively campaigning now, although the United Party has been circulating nominating petitions since around Thanksgiving.

“Once we get through the holidays and depending on the weather, and with COVID not everyone is comfortable with you showing up at their front door,” Burke said.

In recent years Evergreen Park has seen large retail projects that have added to the village’s sales tax revenue.

In 2015, Sexton hefted a hammer and took a ceremonial swing as demolition got underway at Evergreen Plaza, at 95th Street and Western Avenue at the village’s border with Chicago.

That redevelopment brought new tenants to what had been the nation’s first suburban indoor mall. Other retailers that have come to the village in recent years include Meijer, Menards and grocer Mariano’s.

In the summer of 2012, Sexton was admitted to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn suffering from what he believed at the time was the flu but turned out to be the West Nile virus.

He soon found himself unable to walk, stand or even sit up straight. He lost 65 pounds and underwent months of therapy to relearn how to stand, walk and climb stairs.

In 2014, Sexton and his family were featured in a public service video that ran in suburban movie theaters that was part of a Cook County Department of Public Health educational campaign centered on West Nile.

mnolan@tribpub.com