History of positionBenny Huskins previously occupied the
recently rotating seat for over 15 years. In July of 2008 he
resigned his position, saying that he was retiring from the city for
personal reasons.
In late August 2008, Mayor Beth Davis-Kavelman recommended Dean
Henrichsmeyer.
He was sworn in on Sept. 1, 2008.
With his term set to expire in May, Henrichsmeyer ran unopposed
for re-election, but within a month after being sworn in for his
first full term, he announced that he would be resigning.
He, too, cited personal reasons and the time the position
demands. "It is important for the city of Lincoln and the
surrounding community that aldermen invest themselves and their time
to serve the citizens of Lincoln," he said. "I believe most of that
time serving should be done outside the meetings. With my current
responsibilities and a young family, I don't feel I have that time
to invest."
When Henrichsmeyer's seat was officially vacated in mid-June, new
Mayor Keith Snyder was left with the task of seeking out a new
alderman for the ward.
While the majority of the decision-making process was left to the
mayor, and only discussed with the council in executive session
Monday night, the mayor did say during the open meeting that he had
several who had applied for the position, but in the end it was
Stacy Bacon who stood out as the best person to take the chair and
once again make the city council complete.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2009/Aug/19/images/ads/current/ja_bch111308.png)
About Bacon
Bacon is a lifelong resident of Lincoln. She is the daughter of
the late Michael Leake and Shirley Leake, who resides in Lincoln.
She is married to Rick Bacon, deputy chief of the Logan County
Sheriff's Department. They have one son, Brandon, a senior at
Lincoln Community High School this fall.
Bacon graduated from LCHS in 1979 and immediately went to work
for the State Bank of Lincoln as an administrative secretary.
In 1981 she began working for Lehn & Fink Products, and then in
1982 she joined the staff of Lincoln College as director of student
activities.
From 1986 to 1989 she served as a legal secretary for Muck Law
Offices.
In 1989 she began her career with the Lincoln Correctional Center
as an office associate, working first for the maintenance department
as support to the plant maintenance engineer, then in the security
office as secretarial support for the administrative security staff.
In 2005 she became the executive secretary to the assistant
warden of operations as well as the assistant warden of programs, a
position she still holds.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2009/Aug/19/images/ads/current/lpl_bch072709.png)
In addition to her secretarial career, Bacon has also received
her license as a real estate agent and is currently listed with
Doris and Associates.
She's a volunteer for the
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network and the
Donate Life Illinois
program, both sponsored by the Illinois secretary of state's office.
In a telephone interview early Wednesday morning, Bacon said, "My
husband warned me not to overwhelm you with my enthusiasm!" That
said, Bacon went on to say that she was very excited about the
opportunity to serve on the council. "I am looking forward to
working with the mayor, department heads, fellow aldermen and
serving the citizens for Ward 1," she said. "I'm also looking
forward to working with Melody (Anderson), who, by the way, already
does a terrific job is serving the ward and the city."
Bacon says that for the time being her strategy is to get to know
the council, learn as much as she can about local government and
then, hopefully, have good ideas that will contribute to the daily
running of the city of Lincoln.
She says that with her job at the prison being a regular
eight-hour day and her work as a real estate agent allowing her to
set her own hours, she expects that she'll have plenty of time to
devote to the city and her ward, and she intends to use that time to
assist the town in moving forward in economic development and
growth.
[to top of second column] |
![Auto Sales](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2007/Aug/13/images/ads/current/graue%20inc%20lda%20certified%20used%20071607.png)
The mayor commented on the selection of Bacon for the council by
saying: "I am pleased to have Stacy joining the council. She is a
lifelong resident of Lincoln and is passionate about seeing our city
grow and improve."
He added: "She has a great deal of experience in government
operations, the private sector and volunteer settings. I know she
will hit the ground running and serve her constituents in Ward 1 and
the entire city well."
Skill sets
In regard to her government experience, Bacon said that she has
worked with state contracts and purchasing through state programs,
and while she doesn't believe that she's coming to the table with
more knowledge than other council members, she does think that she
will be able to contribute based on her experience.
Compassionate, active tissue and organ representative
In talking to Bacon, this reporter found her to be a smart,
funny, friendly individual with a great attitude toward life and the
task she is about to take on. It's hard to imagine that in her life
she has experienced the tragedy of losing a child, but that tragedy
is the driving force behind her and husband Rick's involvement in
the organ donor programs.
Bacon explained that in 1998, they lost their 10-year-old
daughter, Brianne, to a cancerous brain tumor. "Rick and I knew that
donating was something that we wanted to do for ourselves, but we
never imagined that we would be making that kind of decision for our
daughter," she said.
She went on to explain that because they knew Brianne would want
to help others, they made the decision, and as a result four lives
were saved through their daughter's donation.
Bacon says that since then she has been very involved in tissue
and organ donation programs and takes the opportunity to speak on
the issue whenever she can.
In 2000 the Bacon family filmed a commercial supporting organ
donation, which aired in 2001 and is currently available for viewing
online at
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/
programs/special/brianne/brianne.html, where you can also read
about the family and the life journey of their young daughter.
Prison situation insight
In regard to her work at the prison, Bacon says that she is
seeing firsthand the seriousness of the staffing issues there and
that there are problems in all areas when it comes to having enough
workers to get things done.
She cites as an example that even though her official position is
executive secretary to two assistant wardens, she oftentimes finds
herself back in administrative areas where she has worked before,
helping out because there is not enough staff.
Bacon says that she and Alderman Jeff Hoinacki see the working
conditions, know the effect past layoffs have had at the prison and
are concerned about the future.
Bacon knows that another round of layoffs there is going to have
serious effects on the prison and the families who are supported by
it, as well as the community they live in, and she is behind the
city's push to encourage the governor to find some way to prevent
future layoffs.
For the present
Bacon said that she is looking forward to settling in and doing
the best job possible. She hopes that she will be able to contribute
by helping the city council make sound decisions for the future of
Lincoln.
[By NILA SMITH]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2009/Aug/19/images/ads/current/lincup_lda111308.png) |