Republican Maureen Little resigns from DeKalb County Board

SYCAMORE – Maureen Little, a Republican DeKalb County Board member from District 1, announced she will be vacating her seat and moving out of the county at a board meeting on Wednesday night.

She said Wednesday’s meeting was her last, but expressed gratitude to those she shared her time while serving on the board. She also gave special thanks for outgoing DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory and incoming interim administrator Derek Hiland.

“We sold our house this week and everything was done this week,” Little said. “I would like to thank everybody on the board, it’s been a true pleasure. And working with you, Brian, has been really great, and I thank you for your service, and Derek [Hiland] I’ll miss you a lot. Terry Hannan, I really loved working with you. You work so tirelessly, so hard, and you bring beauty to this county, and I wanted to thank you for that.”

Residents in District 1, which encompasses Malta and extends north to Kingston and Kirkland, will continue to be represented by Little’s colleague, Republican Rhonda Henke. They’ll also soon have a new representative, as the Board will need to appoint someone to fill the remainder of Little’s term.

DeKalb County Board member and Chair of the county’s Republican Party Tim Bagby, from District 3, said he’ll remember Little’s service to the community in a favorable light.

“Even though I don’t always agree with her all the time, I agree with her a lot of the time. And I appreciated the patience you had with your constituents, and the patience you’ve had with your colleagues and the patience you’ve had with me as party chair,” Bagby said.

Mary Cozad, a Democratic board member from District 10, said she thinks highly of Little’s voting record.

“I would like to thank Maureen for always voting her conscience. She is a role model for the rest of the board,” Cozad said.

Gregory said Little had given him and other county staff motivation to continue doing their jobs.

“There was a meeting where you defended all of the staff, if you remember, and I think that does not go unnoticed by the staff when the board supports us, especially when the meeting’s raised to a certain level of hostility. I know our staff was very impressed and that support is the type of thing that keeps them going, keeps all of us going,” Gregory said.