Western Springs Village President Dies

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs Village President Alice Gallagher died unexpectedly Tuesday, the village announced.

On Monday night, the Village Board held its regular meeting, but Gallagher did not attend. The clerk said she was suffering from an illness. She presided over last Monday's meeting.

A lawyer and yoga teacher, Gallagher was credited in a village news release as a leader with a steady and calming presence during a time of global uncertainty.

Gallagher was elected as a village trustee in 2013 and then as village president in 2017.

She was a graduate of the University of Miami of Ohio and Seattle University School of Law.

Before becoming a trustee, Gallagher served as president of the Field Park PTO, chairwoman of the Western Springs Foundation for Educational Excellence and a member of the Western Springs School District 101 board.

Since becoming president, Gallagher has served as president of the Central Council of Mayors and a member of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's Council of Mayors Executive Committee.

In 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed Gallagher to serve on the Illinois Tollway board, where she was chairwoman of the audit committee.

In fall 2022, she was elected as vice president of the West Central Municipal Conference regional council of government.

Most recently, Gallagher was instrumental in creating a relationship between the village and the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, the village said.

The village's news release described Gallagher as "kind, genuine, caring and always willing to listen and engage with her constituents and neighbors."

The news release concluded with the statement, "As she often encouraged us during her communications throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, 'We'll get through this together.'"

Gallagher is survived by her husband, Terry, and five children.

The Village Board has the power to choose a new president. On Monday, the board selected Trustee James Tyrrell to preside over the meeting.