Phil Elfstrom, ’84-’85 NACo president, dies at 88

Phil Elfstrom, '84-'85 NACo president and Kane County, Ill. commissioner stressed staff responsiveness to county needs 

Phil Elfstrom, a Kane County, Ill. commissioner and county board chairman who served as NACo president in 1984-85, died May 27 at age 88.

He spent 23 years on the Kane County Board, in that time reorganizing the county’s operations, developing pedestrian trails and preserving access to the Fox River, all while population grew westward from DuPage County into Kane.

“He really held that presidency of NACo as a great personal honor,” said Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, a friend of Elfstrom’s since the 1960s. “In his bedroom at his retirement center, he had photos from his NACo days on the walls.”

During his tenure as NACo president, Elfstrom emphasized that staff should be responsive to counties’ needs, even as austerity measures forced a two-thirds staff reduction in the early ’80s.

“That was his primary objective, he felt very strongly about that,” said William Murphy, who served as NACo president two years before Elfstrom and remained close with him. “With everything that went on, NACo still had to be about the member counties and their needs.”

Elfstrom also served as president of the Kane County Forest Preserve Commission.

“He characterized leadership in suburban Chicago,” Schielke. “He was legendary, and he really sought to enhance the world for future generations. Largely, he was very successful.”

A writer for Illinois Issues compared Elfstrom, with his bald head and mustache, to G. Gordon Liddy and remarked, “His voice is unforgettable. It has enough gravel in it to shame a pirate captain.”

Murphy said that writer wasn’t the only person to see that resemblance.

“One time, we were in Washington and tried to go to a restaurant, but there was a two-hour wait,” Murphy said. “The maître d’ saw him and asked if he was Liddy and sure enough, we had a table a few minutes later.”

His sometimes-gruff exterior belied a warm personality.

“He could be intimidating at times, but he also had a deep belly laugh,” Murphy said. “He was always very sincere, and his word meant something.”

Elfstrom was instrumental in opening a revenue-generating 400-acre landfill that later became a golf course and helped pay for a stadium for the Kane County Cougars minor league baseball team in 1991. He also expanded transportation planning throughout the county, lobbying the Legislature for a quarter-cent tax increase that funded the expansion of a major road. He also planned a bridge across the Fox River that joined Batavia and Geneva.

 “He was a dynamic, remarkable guy who gave a lot of public service. When he set a mind to a task, he did it,” said County Clerk Jack Cunningham. “There were times when Phil and I were working against each other, but I always held him in high esteem, he never let things get personal.”

Elfstrom is survived by his sister, Kathryne Margaret McGuigan; and a nephew, Frank McGuigan. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Covenant Care Hospice Foundation, 3755 E. Main St., Suite 165, St. Charles, IL 60174.