A tribute to Cathy Mahoney’s decades of service

BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE DOWNERS GROVE PARK DISTRICT

Most of us will never know the feeling of having a building named in our honor. “I was flabbergasted when they told me!” exclaimed Cathy Mahoney, a recent recipient of such an honor. In May, the official name of the Downers Grove Recreation Center was changed to include the moniker of the former 18-year Downers Grove Park District Board veteran. The official name is now The Cathy Mahoney Recreation Center (CMRC). “It’s still so surreal to me,” she said, as she smiled.

“Belmont is a main route to my house, so every time I pass the rec center, I really can’t believe my name is on it!” she exclaimed. Mahoney and her husband, Terry, have lived in town for almost four decades. The couple raised their daughter here. After she started school, Mahoney, who was already a member of The Grove Foundation, looked for other ways to get involved in the community.

“We were always at the parks in town with my daughter, so it seemed like a good place to help,” she said. “And when you start with one thing, it often quickly leads to another.” The referendum to build the rec center here in town was just getting underway around the first time Mahoney ran for office. She lost the first election. But that didn’t stop her. Two years later, in 2005, she won. By the time she was elected to the board, most of the major construction decisions had been made.

“They say it takes a village…and that’s this village!”

– CATHY MAHONEY

Until a building is standing, however, there are always hurdles in the process. Getting costs to break even until membership was expanded was one of her first challenges.

Scores of committee meetings later, the result was a 69,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that accommodates an almost 20,000-square-foot gymnasium, which can be partitioned into several sports courts, a three-lane indoor track, and a multi-purpose room that can be rented for meetings or parties. An open-air amphitheater and terrace offer a well-appointed outdoor space.

During her tenure, Cathy Mahoney played a key role in numerous transformative projects.

Mahoney realized early on how difficult it was to find people to run for the board due to the six-year term length. “I would ask people to think about running,” she said. “When they learned the term length was six years, they almost ran away,” she laughed. “One of the first things I proposed was the reduction of terms to four years.”

While the CMRC is the project for which she’ll best be remembered, Mahoney’s contributions to park projects can be seen elsewhere throughout town. The construction of Washington Park’s playground, shelter, fountain, and seating for the ball field, for example, came early in her first term. Several major improvements to McCollum Park, such as the opening of Adventure Falls Sprayground and updates to the mini golf and sport court, can also be found on the list.

The safety conditions and aesthetics of the playgrounds were an area of particular pride to Mahoney. She was involved with the installation or replacement of 15 parks throughout town, as well as their safety improvements.

The implementation of artificial turf at Doerhofer Park was a game-changer for park safety. The turf, which lasts about fifteen years, was not only laid down for the first time under her tenure but was also replaced while she was still in office. “We were happy to see that change because we knew it would likely increase the use of the property.”

Every so often, safety studies of the equipment turned up the need to replace it. “I’m not sure people understand how expensive it is to replace a playground,” Mahoney pointed out. “The average cost is about $300-400K.”

About five years ago, the Park District sourced a non-profit organization to round up and combine the used equipment that is still salvageable. Pieces are combined, rehabbed, and redesigned. They’re then shipped overseas to Asian and African countries to build playgrounds in third-world nations.

Mahoney looks at the project as one of the ‘little accomplishments’ of her tenure. Maybe. But not to the child in an underserved community who has never seen a playground and now has access to one.

She was instrumental to the construction of Veterans Memorial Pavilion – which replaced a former dilapidated structure – built at Fishel Park in 2012.

Things have slowed down since Mahoney’s husband has retired. The couple is on their way to retirement near Seattle. “Our daughter moved out there and we decided seeing her once or twice a year isn’t enough,” said Mahoney. “So we’re aiming to move out there over the next couple of years.”

Mahoney appreciated the opportunity to let others know how grateful she is to the Park District employees and staff who serve the department, both currently and particularly those who worked there during her time on the board. “They had great ideas. The projects I was involved in could never have been done by myself,” she gratefully acknowledged. “There were so many who came to the meetings and lent their support.” Mahoney feels the honor cannot rest entirely with her. “They say it takes a village,” she said, smiling, “and that’s this village!