Joliet Township trustee Ray Slattery made ‘a difference’

Joliet Township this week recognized outgoing Trustee Ray Slattery for his longtime service, something that has become unusual among elected officials at the township.

Slattery leaves the township after 20 years on the board.

He was first elected in 2005.

In 2021, Slattery was the one incumbent who remained on the Democratic slate of trustee candidates elected to office.

“It’s been an honor to serve the people of Joliet Township,” Slattery said at a township board meeting Tuesday. “That’s what I was here for.”

Slattery also thanked township employees, saying they “make us look good.”

His fellow trustees approved a resolution honoring Slattery for his service to the township.

Slattery paid tribute to the younger set of trustees he served with in his last term.

“I am working with three young and bright people,” he said. “I’m a guy who should have been a definition for term limits. These guys taught me something.”

The “term limits” remark was typical of Slattery’s sense of humor, not taking himself too seriously and perhaps enabling him to cross the generation gap with the younger trustees on the board.

“A room that Ray Slattery walks into instantly changes,” Trustee Antione Edwards said as Slattery’s colleagues commented on their time with him. “Wherever Ray is, there’s a difference.”

Trustee Cesar Escutia said that the 2021 Democratic slate of candidates originally did not include Slattery.

“That was not the plan,” Escustia said, adding that the change of plans worked for the better because of Slattery’s experience and noting that his elder colleague sat at his side at board meetings the past four years.

“I couldn’t imagine not having you to the left of me at every meeting,” Escustia said.

Trustee Tanya Arias said Slattery was “a great colleague” and “was really honored to work beside [him].”

Slattery in turn said his younger colleagues “have a great future ahead of them.”

But their future won’t be with the Joliet Township board, at least for now.

None of the incumbents were on the ballot on April 1 after Democrats again slated a new group of candidates. Democrats typically win in Joliet Township, and no Republicans ran for the township trustee positions.

Slattery’s community activities extend beyond his role on the Joliet Township board.

A news release issued by the township on Thursday said that Slattery, a certified public accountant in his professional life, also has served as president of the Fox River Valley Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants, treasurer for Easterseals Joliet Region, president of the Joliet Evening Lions Club, president of the Joliet Historical Museum and president of the Irish American Society of County Will.