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- OBIT: OBIT: Chicago Tribune
July 13, 1999
FRANK J. BALEY, 69, STICKNEY PRESIDENT
Author: Karen Craven, Tribune Staff Writer.
Edition: CHICAGO SPORTS FINALSection: METRO CHICAGOPage: 9
Index Terms: OBITUARY
Estimated printed pages: 2
Article Text:
"Village of Stickney--a good place to live," are the words imprinted on the banners that line many of the streets in the small western suburb.
Those words were often spoken by Stickney Village President Frank J. Baley, who spent more than three decades as a village elected official and the last 10 as president.
"That was his motto," said Arthur E. Rawers, Stickney village clerk.
Mr. Baley, 69, died Saturday of a heart attack on his way home from a trip to a gambling boat in Joliet.
Mr. Baley was born and reared in Stickney and started his political career as a Democratic precinct captain, knocking on doors in the late 1940s and early 1950s, said his wife, Blanche.
"Once he became a precinct captain, he fell in love with politics," she said.
His first elected position was to the Stickney Library Board. In 1965, Mr. Baley was elected Democratic committeeman of Stickney Township and remained a member of the Stickney Township Regular Democratic Organization until his death. In 1966, he was elected a trustee on the Stickney Village Board and held that position for 23 years, before being elected village president in 1989.
"When you are in a position for that long, people recognize that the man is a person who is trying to do the right thing," said Rawers.
Less than 2 square miles, Stickney is easy for outsiders to overlook, but in a 1998 Tribune article, Mr. Baley said that was part of the village's appeal.
"We're a lot like Mayberry," Mr. Baley said at the time, referring to the friendly fictional town that was the setting of the old Andy Griffith television show. "Crime is so low; I think there has been one garage break-in in the last three years."
Aside from his political career, Mr. Baley was an insurance and real estate broker. From 1958 to 1991, he also held various positions with the Cook County assessor's office and the clerk of the Circuit Court, where he served as director of the criminal division at the Criminal Courts Building at 26th Street and California Avenue, his wife said.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Baley is survived by a daughter, Betsy A. Ginger; three sons, Frank T., Thomas W. and William A.; three sisters, Nancy Rozhon, Sharon Novak and Diane Thieda; a brother, Richard; and four grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Mt. Auburn Funeral Home, 4101 S. Oak Park Ave., Stickney. A funeral mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 4300 S. Oak Park Ave., Stickney.
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