Former Woodridge Village Administrator Pens Book

What's a former village administrator to do in his retirement?

If he's John Perry, he writes a book.

Perry retired last year after serving 20 years as the village administrator in Woodridge. Before that, he served as Park Forest's village manager from 1983 to 1989. He currently is a part of the Rotary Club of Woodridge.

His book, Blueprint for Building Community, is a 156-page guide for public officials. Perry reflects on his experiences in both Woodridge and Park Forest and outlines the principles he believes create good government.

"I wrote the book for myself," Perry said. "I wrote it for the folks building community in Park Forest and Woodridge."

Perry hadn't considered writing a book until his brother, Jim Perry, and Jim's colleague, Orville Powell, encouraged John to write about his experiences.

He drew up an outline while visiting his son on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, and soon he became addicted to the writing process. But Perry didn't become truly dedicated to his project until he lost the data on his hard drive and had to begin again.

"I started to be more task-oriented," Perry said. "I decided I really wanted to do this."

Perry finished his manuscript last fall, and the book was published in April by a self-publishing company.

Perry already has used the book for a public service course he taught this summer at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He also has started to distribute the book to some of his former colleagues in Woodridge and Park Forest.

"The mayor (of Woodridge) enjoyed it," Perry said.

In fact, Mayor William Murphy wrote the foreword for the book.

Perry said one of his motivations for the book was the relationship he had with other Woodridge public officials.

"I left with a very positive feeling about what I had been a part of," he said. "There was something about the dynamics of the group process and the values of the people involved that were extremely important.

"I have a real sense of pride in Woodridge and how we did business. We should be very proud of what we are able to accomplish and the regard people in the metropolitan Chicago area have for Woodridge."

Check back this week for more about Perry and excerpts from his book.