Niles, Ill.’s long-time mayor, Nicholas Blase, is stepping down after 47 years. In a statement on the village Web site, Blase, 80, said his retirement was effective Sept. 1. The Village Board is expected to appoint an acting mayor.
In his statement Blase said he is tired and wants to offer the candidates for mayor of Niles the ability to run without worrying whether he will run again. Blase has been mayor of the northern suburb of Chicago since 1961 and prides himself on tax-supported services for village residents, such as a free Pace shuttle bus.
Blase’s decision to bow out as mayor came as he prepared to go to trial on federal charges that he took more than $420,000 in kickbacks for steering local businesses to buy insurance from a friend’s company. Insurance Journal reported on the initial arrest in June 2006.
Blase was arrested on federal corruption charges for allegedly using his public office for at least the last 17 years to steer local business owners to purchase insurance through an agency that paid him bribes and kickbacks from the revenue it collected from business clients in Niles. According to the arrest information, Steven Weiner, president of Ralph Weiner & Associates, an insurance agency in Wheeling, Ill., also faces charges.
Information from the Chicago Tribune and Department of Justice contributed to this story.
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