Crespo Steps Down from Village Board

From the Daily Herald:

Crespo gives up village board

Newly elected state Rep. Fred Crespo resigned his post as a Hoffman Estates village trustee on Monday, setting the stage for the battle to replace him on the increasingly fractured board.

The announcement marked a change of course for Crespo, who said last month that he would keep his trustee seat until sometime this spring.

After beginning his term in the house last week, though, Crespo said he realized that keeping both jobs would be unrealistic.

"I've found out quickly how much work it is to be a state rep," Crespo said. "It would just be really hard to devote the amount of time to the village board that it deserves."

Mayor Bill McLeod accepted Crespo's resignation letter, calling him a friend and "one of the most thorough and hard-working trustees I've ever had the privilege to serve with."

A wise and selfless move by Crespo, who is sure to be a top legislative target in 2008. I wish it were a precedent for Illinois lawmakers, who've often held onto multiple elected positions in the past, due to loopholes in state law. I can't remember them all now, and some are surely good people, but it doesn't present the best image of "public servants."