Steve Lentz
After 12 years as mayor and four before that as a trustee, Steve Lentz’s time as an elected official in Mundelein is coming to a close.
Lentz presided over his last full village board meeting Monday night. A tribute video — featuring testimonials from family members, former trustees and others — played on the boardroom’s TV screens before Trustee Tim Wilson read a resolution lauding Lentz for his service.
Wilson spoke of Lentz’s “extraordinary service, vision and commitment, which have improved the lives of countless residents.”
Additionally, Mayor-elect Robin Meier thanked Lentz for educating her about the job and creating a smooth transition. She takes office May 12.
Lentz responded by thanking voters, “especially those extra five in 2017” — a reference to his slim reelection victory over Holly Kim that spring; village trustees and staffers; and his wife, Michelle, whom he lovingly talked about before presenting her with a bouquet of flowers.
Lentz, who turns 63 next week, began his elected service in 2009 as a village board member. He first ran for mayor and won in 2013, and he was reelected in 2017 and 2021.
A big Lentz-era success was the creation of the outdoor dining area that sprouts up each spring on Park Street east of Route 45. Designed to help restaurateurs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the al fresco attraction has been a hit.
In a telephone interview Monday, Lentz said he’s proud of being part of a team that was able to find “a silver lining” in the COVID-19 crisis.
Another accomplishment was the construction of an 8-acre stormwater detention pond on Courtland Street near Seymour Avenue. Created as part of a $9 million flood-prevention plan, the now 4-year-old pond naturally developed a thriving ecosystem.
Those projects, Lentz said, are “positives that’ll impact our community forever.”
In 2022, Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz toured the ecosystem that developed in a stormwater detention pond on Courtland Street near Seymour Avenue.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com, 2022
Lentz also championed the Mayor’s Cup STEM Challenge, an academic contest for grade school students that initially focused on math but later expanded to include science, technology and engineering.
The Lentz years haven’t been completely rosy. Lentz came under public fire in 2015 when, during an Independence Day speech, he criticized the out-of-wedlock birthrate and the then-new nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. Many Mundelein residents called the remarks offensive while others supported him. Lentz always has stood by the comments and did so again in his interview Monday.
More recently, Lentz and the board drew jeers this year over the plans for Ivanhoe Village, a massive residential and commercial development on the Wirtz family’s property on Mundelein’s northwest side. Local school leaders and their allies have said the development will result in significant enrollment increases without fair financial compensation from the developer.
Lentz and other village officials have praised the plan.
The responsibilities and pressures that go with being mayor have been “a load to bear,” Lentz said. He said he has no plans to run for office again.
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