Changes are coming to the Lake Forest Caucus, with the incoming president looking ahead and her predecessor looking back on how he directed the longstanding Lake Forest institution.
At the March 18 spring meeting, over 80 % of the Caucus general membership approved the executive officer slate proposed by the 43-member Caucus Committee. With the emphatic approval, Regina Etherton will be the Caucus president for the next year, presiding over an organization where she first became active in about four years ago.
“It seemed like a good thing to be involved in because it was an eye opener for me in terms of what the city is all about,” Etherton said. “Then I met all of these wonderful people.”
A Caucus vice president in 2024-25, Etherton takes over as president after a challenging period for the organization’s leadership. Part of the city’s tapestry since 1935, the Caucus recruits, vets, and endorses candidates for the city’s boards and commissions. Caucus-endorsed candidates for public offices such as mayor, city council, or the two local public school boards often run unopposed in the municipal elections.
Usually, there is very little opposition to the overall recruitment and selection process, but that changed starting in November 2022 when the general membership did not approve the Caucus Committee endorsement of Stanford “Randy” Tack for mayor. The organization’s bylaws were not clear on how to handle the situation, and the Caucus Committee moved forward with Tack’s endorsement, despite the general membership vote. That led to a rare contested election in 2023, which Tack won.
Afterward, a proposal to remove the general membership vote from the overall process was rejected in 2023. Then the initial affirmation vote for the 2024-25 leadership team was narrowly defeated, with leadership then holding a second vote, where the slate was approved.
Despite all the controversy, Etherton, a personal injury attorney and Lake Forest resident for about 25 years, remained interested in the Caucus presidency. She believes her talent and experience are a good fit in the volunteer role at this moment.
“Any time you are going into an organization that is being attacked for one reason or another it gives you reason to pause,” she said. “However, I have always been of the frame of mind that people like me don’t step forward to do these tasks then you are going to get people in these positions who shouldn’t be. You need the qualified people, people who are used to leading and organizations. People who can demonstrate they can move forward. That’s what we need right now.”
Looking ahead, she wants to see the introduction of both electronic voting and early voting, allowing for greater participation in the Caucus process, who may not be able to vote in person due to travel or living elsewhere when Caucus elections occur.
“I want to make sure that as much of the population as possible is included in these elections so that we have a fair representation of the entire population, just not certain interest groups who are coming out to vote one way or the other,” she said.
Another subject ahead for Etherton is an examination of the Caucus bylaws. Last year, amid a series of disputes regarding the operations, the leadership formed an ad hoc committee to review and potentially amend the bylaws. Originally, the Caucus leadership indicated the proposals would be ready for a general membership vote for the spring election.
However, that vote was delayed as Etherton noted there were 15 recommendations made and the Caucus Committee has met twice to review the committee’s proposals. She said further discussion is forthcoming as the Caucus leadership had some issues with the proposed revisions.
Etherton added she hopes to have additional meetings with the ad hoc committee for additional review of their proposals with the goal of finding “some middle ground.” But she was not certain when a general membership vote on the proposed revision would occur.
With Etherton set to assume the presidency, Joe Oriti is stepping down after serving the traditional one year. A financial executive who moved to Lake Forest in 2015, Oriti has been a part of the Caucus for four years, joining out of a sense of “civic duty.”
“I enjoyed meeting a lot of different people whom I probably would not have known otherwise and learning the different perspectives they have about our city,” he said.
His term essentially concluded with the easy approval 2025 leadership team.
“It reinforces that the community thinks the work the Caucus does as an institution is valuable and important. They supported the new leadership to carry out the goals and issues for the next year,” Oriti noted.
Upon reflecting in his year as president, Oriti said he is most proud of the increased communication and transparency, including a new website and having additional meetings allowing the membership to meet Caucus officials.
“I feel like I left the Caucus in a good place,” he said.
He concedes the experience was different than he thought it would be, given the pushback against the Caucus leadership.
“You never know what to expect,” he said. “You get in a role and you have made a commitment and just because it is not easy doesn’t mean you have to walk away or quit.”
He believes his actions as president were in the best interests of the community, and he offers no regrets.
“You are not going to make all the people happy all the time, but by and large, you get it right more times than not,” Oriti noted.
Inauguration for Etherton and the rest of the executive officer slate is set for an April 8 meeting.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
