People Profile: Marilyn Michelini

Marilyn Boozel Michelini, Montgomery’s first female village president, was born on a small dairy farm in Earlville, Illinois. Her parents were Ray J. and May Boozel. Her two sisters, Doris and Carol, continue to live in this area.

“I remember milking the cows and I hated it. As a teen I was supposed to gather the eggs, but I hated that also,” she laughed. “When you try and take the eggs away from the chickens, they can fly in your face or they peck you. I also drove the tractor for the haying season and helped haul manure.” 

Marilyn graduated from Earlville High School. She married Richard J. Michelini, and they attended Colorado State University together. Richard graduated as a chemical engineer and joined the ROTC, taking officer training at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill before serving for two years in Texas.

The couple returned to the area and raised five children: Tom, Marie, Mark, Lisa and Christine. Their children would all graduate from college. There would be 10 grandchildren. Richard was a Montgomery village trustee, serving for eight years. He died a quiet death in 2003 due to complications from diabetes.

“My first position was with the Aurora YWCA,” Marilyn said. “I served on the YWCA board and then became the district area outreach director. I ran for Kane County board as clerk but didn’t win. I had carried Aurora, Montgomery and some of Batavia but lost in the St. Charles vote.

"Six months later Village president Ray Kozlowski suggested that I run for trustee on the Montgomery board," she continued. "I served as a trustee from 1987-2001. I have been village president for eleven years now. This term will expire in 2013.”

“When I was a trustee on the Village board, we had six trustees and each one had to oversee a village department," she said. "I had the finance department. We knew that a day-to-day administrator was needed. It was some struggle as I heard many times, ‘But we have always done it this way.’ And I would reply that this is a new time and we need new methods.

"Eventually, we voted to hire a manager for the day-to-day operations. We hired Anne Marie Gaura as the village manager twelve years ago. She had had nine years experience in Lombard prior to joining us. When I first came on the board, Montgomery had 4,000 residents. In 2001 we had 5,671 and today the recent US Census told us that we have 18,438 residents. That means major development and challenges that come with such growth. We have 23 taxing bodies including the township, five school districts, five fire districts, two library districts, two counties.

“The village capital improvement fund allowed us to build the new police station in 2005 and the new Village Hall was opened on November 3, 2008," she said. "The Village Hall final cost was about $12 million dollars. But with the economic decline of the past several years, we had to put on hold a new public works building. Our budget is in the black, however, and we try to maintain reserves at 25% of the budget. We realize our fiduciary responsibility now and in the future for this community.” 

In the village's 2010 yearly report, some of the outstanding accomplishments listed include annexing land at the corner of Rt. 30 and 34 and approving the construction of a shopping center at that location, establishing a Historic Preservation Commission and initiating a Beautification Committee which participated in the “America in Bloom” program.

Marilyn also conducted monthly “Coffee with the Mayor” meetings, updated the village’s transportation and access plans and hosted an annual open house for residents at Village Hall. “I am here to represent all residents of the village," she said. "Together as a team, we can maintain a Village we can all be proud to call home."

Former Montgomery Chief of Police Dennis Schmidt said that "throughout Marilyn’s tenure on the Village Board, both as a trustee and village president, she has been a leader and an advocate on issues confronting the community. Marilyn has also been a consistent supporter of village law enforcement. Her efforts have helped ensure that the men and women of the Montgomery Police Department have the tools necessary to succeed in their law enforcement mission of service to the community.”

State Representative Kay Hatcher said that “Marilyn is one of those extraordinary people who has found just the right balance between leadership and partnerships. It’s always clear where she stands on an issue, but equally clear that she is willing to learn, accept new information, and try her best to make a fair judgment. You couldn’t ask for a more responsive public servant. I’m honored to work with her, and proud to call her a friend.”

On Michelini's office wall is a framed invitation to President Barack Obama’s January 20, 2009 inauguration.

“I did attend it, but I had such a cold and the weather was so very cold in Washington, that it was difficult. I was very close to him at one of the events, but didn’t actually shake his hand. It was a memorable time,” she said.   

This trusted public official had served on the United Way Board in Aurora as well as the PTAs when her children were in school. Marilyn was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Aurora YWCA in 2002.  She has contributed to her community for over a quarter of a century now and seems inexhaustible.