Dupage Policy Journal

Kathleen Rush, the village of Woodridge administrator, retired in January after working for the village for over 30 years, including seven years as administrator.

She leaves with almost 35 years of local government experience, including a stint in the village of Riverside. In addition to her work for the local government, Katy, as she’s known to her friends, was involved in community organizations and events and will continue to do so in retirement.

Notably, she is a member of the Woodridge Rotary Club since 2009, serving as president in 2015. She coordinated the club’s annual Recycling Extravaganza to help keep material out of Illinois landfills. Rush is also very involved in the Women in Local Government Legacy Project, where she passionately advocates for women leaders of local government.

In 2014, Rush was named Administrator of the Year by the American Society for Public Administration. In 2015, she was awarded the Illinois City County Management Association’s Special Service Award for her professional service to Woodridge.

“The opportunity to mentor young people,” Rush said when asked the highlight of her career. “I've had the opportunity to watch over a dozen people that I've worked with go on to become city managers. Having those folks out there doing good things, and knowing that I had an opportunity to help them, has been very rewarding.”