Anyone taking the time to examine thousands of Cook County Board roll call votes spanning more than three decades may notice a political lone wolf.
Carl R. Hansen, who served as the 15th District commissioner from 1974 to 2006, never hesitated to cast the only “no” vote in a sea of 16 other “yesses.” Nor did the strong suburban voice always blindly side with Republican ideology.
But Hansen wasn’t an obstructionist who stood in the way of progress, longtime friend and colleague Cheryl Axley said.
“By being a squeaky wheel on occasion, Carl shed important light on some problems,” said Axley, a former state senator.
“From reading everything to following all the committee reports, he was the kind of watchdog that’s sorely needed today.”
Hansen, of Mount Prospect, died late Tuesday at a Skokie hospice facility. He was 83 years old.
Hansen was the second-longest serving Cook County Board member, behind only the late President John Stroger. He was narrowly defeated in the 2006 Republican primary by current Commissioner Timothy Schneider of Bartlett.
Hansen also led the local Republican party as Elk Grove Township Committeeman for 40 years. Together with Don Totten, Marty Butler and Connie Peters, the longtime committeeman of Schaumburg, Maine and Wheeling townships respectively, they were a political fortress that made getting elected a long shot for local Democrats.
“Carl was a stalwart in the region for the last quarter of the 20th century,” state Rep. Paul Froehlich said.
After his retirement, Hansen, who until late December remained an active consultant on civic movements such the Viking Ship Restoration Committee in Geneva, said his greatest political accomplishment was to block a landfill plan at Poplar Creek that kept 600 acres of forest preserve intact.
Hansen was instrumental in bringing a Cook County branch courthouse to Rolling Meadows. He also called for juvenile court system reform and pushed for county hospitals to go after non-receivables collection from those able to pay – hot topics still today.
His wife, Christl, a local artist, passed away a few years ago.
He is survived by a son and granddaughter who live in Germany.
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