Appointment fills vacancy created by death of predecessor
Frankfort School District 157C said it has appointed Dr. Larry Kociolek to fill a vacancy on the school board.
The appointment was made during a special board meeting held Wednesday, and Kociolek will take the oath of office at the board’s next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at Hickory Creek Middle School, 22150 W. 116th Ave., Frankfort.
Kociolek is a physician-scientist in the field of pediatric infectious diseases at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago and is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the district said in a news release Friday.
His appointment fills the vacancy created by the death of board member Christopher McFadden.
McFadden was elected to the board in April. He was found dead in his home June 29, and the Will County coroner’s office recently ruled his death a suicide.
McFadden died due to “tramadol and hydrocodone intoxication,” which are two prescription medications typically used to treat pain, said Kevin Stevenson, chief deputy coroner.
McFadden previously served nine months on the Lincoln-Way High School District 210 school board. He resigned from that post in January 2016.
Kociolek will serve out the remainder of McFadden’s term, until the next school board election in spring 2019.
The district said that six “very well-qualified” people had applied to fill the vacancy.
“After deliberation, we felt Dr. Kociolek’s knowledge and experience would best serve the needs of the board,” Gina Briese, school board president, said in the news release.
The district said that Kociolek and his wife, Lisa, have lived in Frankfort for eight years. She is a neonatal intensive care nurse at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital.
“My goal as a school board member is to provide an additional voice to the already strong group of board members and district administrators who continue to improve upon an already thriving school district,” Kociolek said in the release.
McFadden previously served on the District 157C board from 2011 to 2015, including two years as its president.
McFadden was an attorney with the Mahoney, Silverman and Cross law firm in Joliet and previously was an assistant U.S. attorney from 2005 to 2016.
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