Late former Mokena economic and community development director remembered for helping shape community
MOKENA, Ill. — When it comes to Alan Zordan’s impact on Mokena, one needs to just step outside and look at the quality of their home or drive past one of the many businesses along Wolf Road, Route 30, 191st Street or LaGrange Road.
Zordan, 64, who spent nearly three decades in public service to the Village of Mokena helping to change the landscape of the south suburban community from small town to a vibrant residential and commercial area, died on June 9. He is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, Nancy, and his daughters Lisa and Julie.
“People have no idea how much time that man put into the job,” Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer said of Zordan during an interview in late June. “The number of hours that guy put in was unbelievable.”
And Zordan “always had a smile on his face,” the mayor said — even when working long hours or dealing with problems from residents or developers.
“Some of us just have to open our mouths and say, ‘hello,’ and we sound confrontational,” Fleischer said. “But Alan never sounded confrontational with people. He’d sit and talk, and I don’t think I ever heard him get into an argument with a resident. He just told them what was going on, the facts, what could be done — and then he’d try to help them.
“He was a very easy guy to work with.”
When former Mokena Village Administrator John Downs hired Zordan in 1989, he knew the Village was “just starting to roll into what was going to become a very busy decade.” Downs needed someone in the building department that had experience in systems that could help in the management of inspections and oversight — things that would be critical to Mokena as it started to grow as a community.
“[Zordan] was the perfect candidate for that position, and he turned out to be one of the best decisions the community leaders ever made by bringing him into the fold,” Downs said. “He was incredible.”
Zordan came to Mokena as a teenager, when his family moved from the southside of Chicago to the south suburb in 1971. At the time, the community’s population was just about 2,000 people. While he soon left the area to attend college after graduating from Lincoln-Way Community High School, he eventually made his way back when the building and zoning administrator position opened.
Zordan — who ultimately was promoted to economic and community development director — helped with the approval of 45 residential subdivisions and saw a population that boomed to approximately 20,000 people.
“We were so busy,” Fleischer said of that period when Zordan was hired.
Downs said Zordan developed excellent oversight systems to manage building permits and inspections, and he cultivated a talented team. It was needed as a home could get around 15 inspections, and when Mokena was in its growth spurt, there were times when 300 homes being constructed at one time.
“The system he had in place was exceptional at keeping things in order,” Downs said. “He was so good at it, and the people he worked with were so good at it, you often overlooked it because nothing ever went wrong.
“But the outcome of all that is one the best housing stocks in the Chicago suburbs over the last 25 to 30 years. The homes keep their value because they are built well and last. They function great for the families who live in them.
“I think that was one of the things he was most proud of.”
Downs said he believed the builders respected Zordan, because they knew they had to follow the guidelines and rules set by Zordan and his team or they would hear about it from him in short order.
But while developers may have known to toe the line with Zordan, Downs said Zordan’s colleagues knew they had in him a trusted and supportive colleague.
“He was the kind of person who whenever I personally and professionally got flustered, I’d go and talk to him,” Downs said of Zordan. “He always had a way of calming me down and others around him on our team and other employees. I think that was an invaluable asset to our organization.”
Downs said he admired Zordan’s ability to never take critical feedback on presentations or decisions personally.
“Alan was a very balanced person,” Downs said. “He wanted and always tried his very best to do the best job he possible could do. He worked extremely hard — but also kept it in perspective, in terms of what was happening around him that he couldn’t control, like the political environment or the different things that affect employees in the public arena. He kept a positive approach. He always saw the good sides in everything.
“He understood all sides but gravitated to the positive.”
Former Assistant Village Administrator Kirk Zoellner said Zordan was a “great team player.”
“He was always engaged and sought input from other department heads on development issues,” Zoellner said. “[He] jointly found consensus solutions that successfully meshed overall community goals with the needs of the individual developer.
“He had great camaraderie with his staff and always supported their professional development.”
He also said Zordan had a commonsense knack for balancing the community’s need for economic development and growth with his responsibility to ensure numerous Village ordinances and codes were respected and enforced.
During his time with the Village, Zordan oversaw major developments — from the Mokena Marketplace shopping mall (with stores such as JCPenney and Meijer) to Schillings and Altorfer CAT, from Accelerate Indoor Speedway and Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park to the Range USA Mokena indoor shooting range.
“That list goes on and on,” said Mokena Village Administrator John Tomasoski. “For that 28-year period, Alan played a significant role in what Mokena looks like today from a housing and economic development standpoint.”
Tomasoski, who worked with Zordan from 2015 to 2021, called him “a pro’s pro.”
“He was a very good department head who cared about the community and other staff members and working with the elected officials,” Tomasoski said. “He was a strong communicator and excellent team player.”
Downs said he believed Zordan was proud of being able to help add to the community in which he grew up and lived.
Zordan retired from the Village in September 2021 — capping a career in public service that spanned 40 years — allowing him to spend more time with his family.
“The most important thing to him was his family — his wife, Nancy, and his daughters Julie and Lisa, and his parents and siblings,” Downs said. “That is what he cared about the most.
“I always admired him for that so much. He kept such a great balance. We talked a lot about not letting work get ahead of what was most important — your family.”
Fleischer, whose time with Zordan overlapped during two separate stints with the Village Board, said Zordan was private.
“But I know how much he loved Nancy,” Fleischer said. “He always cared about his family. That’s what I feel bad for. This was his time to be with his family.”
Zordan also was a great friend.
“Alan was a good and reliable friend and Village teammate,” Zoellner said. “He was an honorable man that committed his life to serving his hometown, raising his family, and making life better for many. He will be greatly missed.”
Downs said Zordan was “someone you could always go to and talk to if you needed to about almost anything.”
“He was always there to support you,” Downs said. “He could pretty much power through any adversity there was.
“Alan Zordan was a great man. I admired and respected him as much as anybody I ever worked with.”
And while Zordan’s impact on the community may be seen mostly in the housing stock and bustling commercial activity, those who knew him and worked with him — like Fleischer — may point to something else.
“He just had that damn smile,” Fleischer said.
Per Zordan’s tribute page, “family and friends are invited to join in celebrating Alan’s life at an open house” from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, July 9, at Enrico’s Italian Restaurant (20535 S. LaGrange Road) in Frankfort. Memorials also may be made in his name to the UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center “where he received excellent care.”