PEKIN, Ill. – The Pekin City Council on Monday night swore-in its new members, honored its departing ones, and remembered a “pillar of the community.”
Monday night was the final city council meeting for Lloyd Orrick after 24 years, and Chris Onken after a little more than a year. Orrick declined to run for re-election in April’s consolidated elections, while Onken did not win a seat.
Both Orrick and Onken received commemorative coins and street signs as parting gifts.
In his final moments on the council, Orrick thanked the city and its residents, and wished it the best.
“I’ve always tried to do the right thing for the residents. We disagree at times, but that’s good. If we all agree at the same time, we’re not all needed,” Orrick said.
Mayor Mary Burress thanked Orrick for his service to the council, and for the wisdom he would give to her. Councilman John Abel said Lloyd is a “wealth of knowledge” for the city.
Burress also honored Pekin’s late City Clerk Sue McMillian, who passed away on April 28th after an illness. McMillian first came to Pekin in 1991 as a secretary in the mayor’s office, before being appointed City Clerk in 1995.
“She swore me in two years ago, she has stated that every officer, police officer, and firefighter that are active today, she swore in every one of them here,” Burress said. “We can’t forget her, and we can’t thank her for all the time that she gave to each and every one of us.”
Former councilman Pastor Michael Richardson offered a prayer for and shared memories of McMillian, saying she loved Pekin and was a “fearless advocate” for the city.
Burress says the city is planning to honor McMillian in the future.
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