Verna Clayton was Buffalo Grove’s village president for 12 years, overseeing a period of explosive growth in the 1980s that included the development of 500 acres of industrial property, before serving six years as a state representative in the northwest suburbs.
“She was involved in a lot of the things going on in the northwest suburbs and worked very well with other mayors in the area,” said former state Sen. Bill Peterson, a colleague and friend.
Clayton, 87, died on Oct. 8 of natural causes at an assisted living center in Anderson, Indiana, said her daughter, Valerie Harp. She had moved to Anderson in June and previously had resided in McCormick, S.C., and Jupiter, Florida, after moving away from Buffalo Grove shortly after she left the state legislature.
Born Verna Lewis in Hamden, Ohio, Clayton spent some of her childhood in Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University, later taking classes at Harper College in Palatine.
She and her husband, Frank, settled in Buffalo Grove in 1969.
In the early 1970s, Clayton and some friends became frustrated with local leadership in Buffalo Grove after land that had been intended for a school wound up being used for a water treatment plant. The group met in Clayton’s living room and decided to run for seats on the village board as the Buffalo Grove Alliance Party. Clayton wound up successfully running for village clerk.
She held that post through the 1970s before winning a race for village president, becoming the first woman to hold that post. She emphasized the need to balance the village’s residential tax base with commercial and industrial development.
Clayton oversaw additional residential development during her 12 years as village president and was one of the movers behind 500 acres of industrial development that included the 54-acre Buffalo Grove Business Park, at Arlington Heights and Lake Cook roads.
“We like what we have been able to create,” Clayton told the Tribune in 1988. “We’re very pleased with the developers that have come to Buffalo Grove, and what we hope for in the future is continued growth of the same high quality.”
Clayton also was one of the forces behind the creation of Town Center, a mixed-use development in Buffalo Grove that was aimed at creating a retail, residential, office and entertainment core similar to that of a town square.
“It’s an effort to create our identity,” Clayton said in 1988. “Like so many of the newer suburban areas, we don’t have an old town center.”
Peterson worked in Vernon Township government while Clayton was village president, and he recalled collaborating with her on a dial-a-ride program for senior citizens and those who are differently abled.
“She was one of the big supporters of that and helped me get a grant and all the minutia you go through to help set up the buses and the program,” Peterson said.
According to Clayton’s daughter, one of the achievements that she was proudest of was bringing Lake Michigan water to Buffalo Grove through the creation of the Northwest Water Commission, which was formed to build a pipeline to carry water to four northwest suburbs. Lake water began flowing to Buffalo Grove in early 1985.
While village president, Clayton also served for a time as the first female president of the Illinois Municipal League.
“Verna did not sit back and watch — she became involved in whatever she attended,” said Buffalo Grove Village Clerk Janet Sirabian, who succeeded Clayton as clerk in 1979 and still holds the post. “We worked well together and had a lot of good times.”
Clayton long had pushed for Buffalo Grove to have its own post office. She chose not to run for reelection in 1991, but got her wish shortly before her term ended. Postal officials finally acquiesced, and Clayton was able to be part of the March 1991 groundbreaking ceremony for a new post office.
“It certainly is a long time in coming,” she told the Tribune at the post office’s groundbreaking ceremony.
Upon leaving office in April 1991, her colleagues renamed the municipal campus — with its village hall, public service center, police station and clubhouse — the Buffalo Grove-Clayton Municipal Complex.
“When I took office as mayor, we had absolutely no industrial property in our community,” she told the Tribune. “Today we have more than 500 acres. We’ve also increased the square footage of our commercial space in town. We also have a broad mix of housing types. We have everything from starter homes on through to empty nesters.”
In 1992, Clayton ran for state representative as a Republican, representing the state’s 51st District. She won the GOP primary and handily defeated her opponent in the general election.
As a legislator, Clayton notched a variety of achievements, including getting a bill passed that imposed stricter regulations on police who engage in chases by requiring, in part, more radio communications. She also investigated allegations of misconduct and aided with impeachment proceedings against Illinois Supreme Court Justice James Heiple while serving as a member of the Special House Investigative Committee, and she served on the House Transportation Committee, which involved testifying before the U.S. Congress on infrastructure issues.
“She really was a hard worker,” Peterson said. She really had the personality and the fortitude to get out there. And she also picked up a lot of ideas from other people.”
In 1997, Clayton announced that she would retire from the legislature at the end of 1998, with plans to move with her husband out of state.
“I enjoy serving people and have been blessed to have the opportunity to meet and work with many wonderful people on issues important to our area and the rest of the state,” she told the Tribune in 1997.
Her husband died in 2014. In addition to her daughter, Clayton is survived by a son, Barry; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
A visitation will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at Kingswood United Methodist Church, 401 W. Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.