Edward J. FitzSimons

Edward James FitzSimons (September 29, 1940 – November 16, 2024) was an American attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Mettawa, Illinois, from 1981 to 1991.

Early life and education

Edward James FitzSimons was born to David Richard FitzSimons and Jean FitzSimons (née Tanner) in Baltimore, Maryland. FitzSimons lived with his parents and older sister, Carol, in Baltimore until, at the age of seven, his family moved to Libertyville, Illinois. FitzSimons was a committed member of the Sons of the American Revolution and of the Boy Scouts of America, in which he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. FitzSimons began his career as a lawyer in downtown Chicago. Meanwhile, he and his family settled in the northern Chicago suburb of Mettawa. As an attorney FitzSimons represented many notable clients from the Chicago area.

W.W. Grainger Controversy During his tenure and through his resignation, FitzSimons played a pivotal role in the ongoing debate over development in the small village of Mettawa, Illinois. The controversy largely centered around W. W. Grainger, a Skokie-based industrial equipment firm, and its plans to develop a corporate center on a 530-acre property along Illinois Highway 60.

In 1991, after village officials failed to act on Grainger's rezoning request, the company filed a lawsuit seeking to disconnect the property from Mettawa. A Lake County Circuit Court ruling allowed the disconnection, and the village launched an appeal, aiming to preserve its zoning laws and rural character.

FitzSimons’ approach contrasted sharply with the hardline stance of his political opponent, succeeding Mayor Julius Abler, who led a campaign to resist all non-residential development in Mettawa. This difference in philosophy became a focal point of the 1993 village board election, which was widely seen as a referendum on the future of the village. FitzSimons, supporting a "Common Sense Party" slate, urged village leaders to work with Grainger executives before the disconnection was finalized. He cautioned that an upheld disconnection would likely lead to rezoning by Lake County, rendering Mettawa powerless in influencing the development. He was the sole dissenting voice on the Village Board when it voted 5–1 to reject Grainger’s rezoning request, a decision that led him to resign in protest. and Lake Forest Academy, having legally represented them both. Instead of ever officially retiring, FitzSimons relocated his office from downtown Chicago to Lake Forest, Illinois, to be closer to home. After selling his Mettawa "Gentleman's farm" to subsequent Mettawa mayor Barry MacLean in 2008, FitzSimons and his wife moved to the North Shore suburb of Lake Bluff, Illinois, where he continued his legal career until his death in November 2024 at the age of 84, from complications resulting from aspiration-induced cardiac arrest and resuscitation suffered earlier the morning of his passing.