DIXON – The Jim Burke era will end after 16 years.
Burke, 76, announced Thursday that he will not seek another term as mayor in the April 7 municipal election. Had Burke won a fifth term, it would have been the most consecutive terms for a Dixon mayor since 1911.
The mayor made the announcement during a news conference at City Hall Thursday afternoon, with nearly two dozen residents, city staff, and other council members in attendance. He received a standing ovation shortly after he announced his decision.
"It has been a fantastic, rewarding experience to be a part of all the positive changes in the community during my 16 years as mayor," Burke said.
Related: Langloss: Burke was 'essential' to get city back
Local businessman Liandro Arellano Jr. is the only person so far to file a petition to run for mayor. Commissioner Jeff Kuhn picked up a petition for mayor and commissioner, but hasn't announced his decision. Candidates have until Monday to file petitions.
Burke was elected to his first term in 1999, when he defeated 2-term incumbent Don Sheets by 235 votes. He also served three terms as a commissioner, from 1967 to 1979, for the streets and public property departments.
The role of local government has changed during Burke's four terms in office, he said, from strictly providing police and fire services and plowing streets.
"Communities don't grow and can't grow now unless you've got active involvement from city officials, city resources involved," Burke said. "It just doesn't happen. That whole idea of the role of city government has changed considerably."
Over the past year, Burke has said that he would likely seek re-election. He even said so 2 weeks after his September surgery to remove an invasive tumor.
But the decision was made about 3 weeks ago, Burke said, when he and his wife, Lucy, were headed somewhere.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time," he said. "So when I did make the decision, mentally, I felt immediate relief, once I did it. Maybe just because I didn't have to think about it any longer."
Burke said Thursday his decision wasn't based on health concerns, adding that he walks every day and is cancer free. He made the decision, he said, because he wants to spend more time focusing on his business and his personal life.
Burke said he hopes, and he thinks, that his time as mayor will be remembered by the development that's taken place downtown and in the central business district.
But his tenure will also undoubtedly be marked by the Rita Crundwell scandal. The city's former comptroller was arrested at City Hall in 2012 and later convicted of wire fraud in the theft of nearly $54 million over 2 decades.
Since Crundwell's arrest, Burke has been thrust to the forefront of the city's recovery efforts – and the public backlash.
In his opening statement Thursday afternoon, the mayor addressed the events that followed Crundwell's arrest and conviction, saying that he thought all along that some good would come from the scandal, one of them being the way the city was forced to financially operate "lean and mean," which, he said, continues today.
After the scandal
Burke's announcement Thursday came 2 years, 8 months and 1 day after Crundwell's arrest. His last day as mayor will be 3 years, 13 days after.
On April 18, 2012, the day after the arrest, Burke addressed the media and residents from the very place he announced his decision Thursday.
"This is a traumatic, upsetting event the citizens and council are experiencing," Burke said at the time, adding that when he first met with FBI personnel in Rockford, he told them he hoped his suspicions about Crundwell were wrong.
The mayor ended his nearly 7-minute statement that day on an optimistic note, even though at the time Crundwell was suspected of stealing only $3 million.
"This is a strong city that will recover," Burke said in 2012. "We have strong leadership, in both professionals and volunteers, in every facet of the community. This is a beautiful city, bursting with vitality, and citizens should be proud of its past and confident in its future."
After being convicted of wire fraud, Crundwell was sentenced to 19 years, 7 months, a term being served at a federal prison in Waseca, Minnesota.
The city later settled a lawsuit with its former auditors and bank for $40 million, a quarter of which went to legal fees.
From the sale of Crundwell's property and assets, the city has received about $9.3 million in restitution. The government continues its efforts to make the city whole.
Burke's legacy
The Crundwell scandal and aftermath will have accounted for less than a quarter of Burke's 16 years as mayor.
When he was elected in 1999, he said riverfront development was a priority and needed public support. Ten years later, the Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza was dedicated.
On Dec. 5 of this year, Burke spoke at the dedication of the downtown streetscape project, which included new roads, sidewalks, curb and gutter work, and landscaping elements. He said the streetscape is a continuation of the riverfront work, and both will make the downtown "a source of beauty and a destination point."
Other major projects completed during Burke's tenure include business development near Interstate 88, the Public Safety Building, and reconstruction of bridges over the Rock River.
The city's efforts during Burke's administration attracted Walmart and Raflatac, and helped to create the Presidential Parkway Plaza.
The toll booths at the exit ramps at I-88 and state Route 26 were moved east of Dixon after the mayor petitioned the Illinois State Toll Highway Administration.
Burke was mayor through two economic recessions. And he was mayor in 2004, when President Ronald Reagan died.
He also oversaw changes in city government as a result of the Crundwell scandal.
Burke called for a governmental task force to explore different types of government and recommend which was best for Dixon. That seven-member body recommended that the City Council let citizens decide which form of government was best by asking a question on the Nov. 4, 2014, ballot: "Shall the city of Dixon adopt the managerial form of municipal government?"
Voters overwhelmingly favored the change from commission form to managerial, with 76 percent voting to switch.
On Thursday, Burke said for the first time publicly that he had voted in favor of the change.
He had tried, but he wasn't able to get a good feel for how the vote might go. So when he saw the results, he said, he was surprised.
"I think the folks spoke loud and clear on it," he said the night of the election.
Even though he voted for the change and noted that people had criticized the commission form for being "antiquated," Burke said the city was able to make a lot of progress under that form of government.
During the first council meeting after the municipal election in April, the new council will pass an ordinance to establish the new form of government. Then the city will move to hire a city manager. Once the city has a city manager, the new form of government will take effect.
"It needs to be given a chance," Burke said. "There doesn't need to be any effort by anybody to try and sandbag it. It needs to be given a chance, and it may very well work good."
Elections past and upcoming
Burke's 235-vote margin of victory over Sheets in 1999 for his first term wasn't the only close election he had. In the last election, in 2011, Burke defeated Bob Gibler by 109 votes.
Gibler filed a petition on Monday to run for commissioner in the April 2015 election.
Burke defeated Sheets again in 2003 to win a second term as mayor. In 2007, he had his easiest victory, winning re-election to a third term by 571 votes.
The April 2015 election will be the first since 1999 without Burke's name on the ballot for mayor.
The mayor said that he'll miss the campaign, and while he couldn't predict the outcome if he had decided to seek re-election, the decision he announced Thursday didn't reflect any concern that he would lose.
The biggest factor in the campaign for mayor, Burke said, will be about leadership.
"Strong leadership, I think, from the mayor's office, kind of lays the groundwork for the way people look at things in the community," he said. "We have some tremendous leadership in this community. We really do.
"I mean, that's the reason we've had so many thing happen here, ... why we have such a quality community."