Homewood appoints Belue to replace longtime board member Dawkins
Homewood’s Village Board approved the appointment Wednesday of Chenise Belue as trustee following the resignation of Barbara Dawkins.
Dawkins, a trustee for 12 years, stepped down after being sworn in early last month as one of Cook County’s 22 new associate judges.
Belue is a teacher in the single-school Gen. George Patton Elementary District 133 in Riverdale and was previously on the Homewood Library Board. She is also a member of Homewood’s Beautification Committee and is active in Homewood Elementary District 153, Mayor Rich Hofeld said.
Before being named an associate judge, Dawkins was an assistant Cook County state’s attorney for
18 years, according to her biography.
Dawkins has been appointed to the traffic division.
“She is an outstanding individual,” Hofeld said.
With the appointment as a judge, Dawkins couldn’t serve on a decision-making body in the village, such as Village Board, Plan Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals, according to Hofeld.
“I didn’t know that judges can’t do that until she told me about a month ago,” Hofeld said.
He was able to appoint her to a two-year term to the village’s Economic Development Committee, which is an advisory panel. The appointment was approved Tuesday.
The Village Board also approved the installation of additional license plate-reading cameras at intersections around the village.
The contract with Atlanta-based Flock Group is for $61,500. The company has similar camera agreements with other suburbs including Country Club Hills, Frankfort, Harvey, Matteson, Mokena, New Lenox and Oak Forest, according to Homewood.
Cameras will be installed at 175th and Halsted streets, 183rd and Halsted, 183rd and Kedzie Avenue and 175th and Dixie Highway, according to the agreement.