Madison Township’s newest trustee board member will serve as the panel’s chairman in 2025. Thomas Sill was appointed to that leadership position during the board’s recent organizational meeting for the new year. Sill joined the trustee board on July 1 to fill the unexpired term of Kenneth Gauntner Jr. Gauntner, who had served as a Madison trustee for 10 1/2 years, resigned on June 30, saying that he simply knew it was his time to leave office. He had 1 1/2 years left in his latest term. During his career, Gauntner also worked as Madison Township administrator and Lake County administrator. The other two township trustees, Max Anderson Jr. and Peter Wayman, unanimously voted to install Sill as Gauntner’s successor. Sill took his oath of office immediately after receiving the appointment. As the new 2025 board chairman, he will replace Anderson, who held that title last year. Sill was unable to attend trustees’ Jan. 3 organizational meeting because of travel plans he made before taking office. Before being chosen to replace Gauntner, Sill had been an appointed member of the Madison Township Zoning Appeals Board for about 15 years. Wayman was selected as 2025 board vice chairman. With Sill being absent, Wayman accepted the chairman’s gavel from Anderson and oversaw the rest of the meeting. “You did a wonderful job, by the way,” Wayman said to Anderson, regarding his performance as chairman in 2024. In other action at the organizational meeting, trustees: • Reappointed Gary Pasqualone as additional legal counsel for the township. • Reappointed Jeff Hyrne to a four-year term on the Madison Township Zoning Commission. ″ Appointed Lori Boban to a four-year term on the Madison Township Zoning Appeals Board. On Nov. 26, trustees selected Boban to finish Sill’s unexpired term as a zoning appeals board member. His seat on the panel had been vacant since July 1, when he became a township trustee. Sill’s four-year term on the zoning appeals board member had been set to expire Dec. 31. • Appointed Sill as the Madison Township representative to the Lake County General Health District for 2025. At the conclusion of the meeting, Wayman said he looked forward to working with Sill and Anderson for the next 12 months and expressed optimism that the board will have a productive year. Anderson expressed similar sentiments. “We work good as a team,” he said.