Lockport swears in Susan King to fill Sheehan’s open council seat

Lockport — The City of Lockport’s 1st Ward has a new alderman. Susan King was appointed to fill out the remainder of Patrick Sheehan’s term at the City Council meeting June 5.

Sheehan resigned from the council in April after he was chosen to fill a vacancy for the 37th District of the Illinois House of Representatives. That seat opened when state Rep. Tim Ozinga announced in April he was resigning.

King was born and raised in Lockport and has been living in the city with her husband, Andrew, since 2003. The couple has two teenage sons who also have grown up in the community.

King said she was selected for the role after submitting an application and having several meetings with Mayor Steven Streit. She also met with Sheehan to discuss some of the aldermanic duties before being sworn in.

“He explained quite a bit to me, and he told me he felt I was a good fit,” King said.

King has been involved in the Lockport community through her sons’ participation in local baseball and basketball leagues and as a member of the PTC board at St. Dennis School and Parish, where she used to lead fundraising efforts and worked in the tuition office.

“As a lifelong Lockport resident, I have a personal passion and stake in the community,” King said. “I’ve always been interested in politics on some level, so this was a good step in on a bigger scale. I heard about the opening, and I decided to go for it.”

King said she is happy with the initiatives the city has been taking to revitalize the downtown area and to bring more business in and that she “hopes to keep that momentum going.”

“I think it’s been a big positive for the city,” she said. “I’m really happy about seeing businesses flourishing downtown and coming to the Lockport Center area.”

King brings more than 20 years of sales, management and fundraising experience to the role from her career. She previously has worked in the beverage, consumer products and advertising industries, and most recently worked as the director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at Providence Catholic High School, a role she left this spring to pursue a return to the corporate world.

She also previously sat on the board for Watts of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides LED solar lights to people in countries without modern electrical infrastructure.

“I think my extensive corporate background gives me a well-rounded background of business acumen and relationship building skills,” she said. “I’ve built a lot of relationships over the years within the community and I’m good at seeing things through from start to finish. I’m excited about starting and I think I can help make a positive difference in our community.”

During her swearing in at the Committee of the Whole meeting June 5, Streit was enthusiastic about King joining the city council.

“We’re happy to have her join us and we look forward to having her on the board finishing Pat’s term,” he said.

King’s term, which Sheehan was half through when he stepped down earlier this year, will end in 2025.