About Tim

On this page, you can read about me, Tim. Typically, this type of page operates as a basic resume of a candidate's background and accomplishments. And I am extremely proud of my accomplishments. If the basic nuts and bolts are what you're looking for, you'll find them in my one-page resume, right here.

But if you want a more personal look at my background, spend a few minutes reading this illustrated history. I'll try to flesh out some of the things about me I think you ought to know.

Let's start with my name. I, Tim Placher, am the oldest son of Jerry and Joann Placher. I was born in Joliet in 1961, making me just about old enough to require a pair of cheaters to read my own Web site.

My dad was the oldest of 10 kids. He grew up in a very modest household in Rockdale. He was a bright guy who loved music, eventually playing trumpet in award-winning bands at Joliet Township High School and, after that, the United States Marine Corp. After his hitch in the Marines, he worked as a mechanic while getting training in computer programming from Joliet Junior College. From there, he took a job in the computer department at Silver Cross Hospital, working with a roomful of hardware that computed only a fraction of what his laptop could handle by the time he passed away in 1997 after three and a half decades in the field. He wasn't the most well-known guy in town, but my mother always said he was the most honest guy in town.

My mom, Joann Kelly, grew up on 4th Ave. in Joliet, then moved to a two-flat on Mason Ave. Her family shared the building with the family of her dad's brother, Stang Kelly. Yep, that Stang Kelly, of liquor store fame. Here's a bit of local trivia for you. "Stang" was his real name. It came from his mother's maiden name: Elizabeth Stanger.

My mom was one of Joliet's finest citizens. Ask anyone who knew her. To this day, the old nuns who taught her will tell you she was about the smartest person they ever met. When she was 14, her father was murdered, leaving her and my grandmother alone. Their family crisis was eased somewhat by a generous gift: the Sisters of St. Francis gave her a free education all the way through the end of her college years.

It was a debt my mom spent the rest of her too-short life trying to repay. She tirelessly raised money to support the institutions that had supported her: the College of St. Francis, the Cathedral of St. Raymond and the Joliet Diocese. She spearheaded fundraising campaigns to build churches and school additions throughout the diocese. She raised millions of dollars through the sheer power of her personality and her single-minded belief in her work. That work never made her wealthy, except in the George Bailey sense--she had more friends than anyone I've ever known. When I was 26, cancer took her. She was 49.

I've got two younger sisters, Peggy, who's the assistant superintendent of New Lenox schools, and Sally, who lives with her family outside of Milwaukee, Wis.

I'm married to Patty McGrath, also a local girl, who's a teacher in Joliet Public Schools. We have one son, Cal, who is 12-years-old and a 7th grader at St. Ray's, the same school attended by his mom, dad, grandmother and his great-grandmother, who started 1st grade at the school the year it opened in 1917. Patty has two adult children: Liz and Brandon Kelly.

I live (and grew up) in the Cathedral Area of Joliet. The most comical thing to me is the way some people act like the neighborhood is a sort of snooty, prestigious gated community. For one thing, you need to have your head examined if you think owning a century-old house is particularly "prestigious." The only thing it really is, is a whole lot of work! Plus, the Cathedral Area isn't some hoity-toity refuge. In my youth, it was a distinctly middle class place, peppered with a very few well-to-do families. Today, it's a neighborhood facing a lot of changes.

Next, let's look at my schooling. I went to grade school at St. Ray's, where I got a great education and a set of friends I'm lucky to still have. Some of the people I went to school with gained notoriety--Tommy Thayer and Terry Gannon, for example. You probably didn't know that Paula Pell, a St. Ray's girl, is the head writer at "Saturday Night Live." But deep down, we're still St. Ray's kids. It's a bond I know many people in the Joliet area have found in their own neighborhood communities. 

I went to Joliet Catholic for high school, where I graduated as the class Salutatorian. I got an A- in English during my freshman year and never caught up to that darned Paul Carbery. I was a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist, and, on my college board exams, scored in the 99th percentile. Those are things I rarely mention to anyone, but if you're voting for a judge, I figure they're things you'd want to know. I played some sports, too: football, golf and tennis. 

From JCHS, I went on to college, where I had a checkered  experience. I always did well academically, but I was sort of directionless. I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. Consequently, I bounced around through several schools and majors, attending St. Francis, DePaul and Arizona State before getting my head out of my posterior and returning to St. Francis to complete my degree in Education.

From there, I took a job as a teacher and organist/choir director at St. Mary Magdalene on Briggs St. in Joliet. All though college, I had been playing the organ at several area churches to make side money. I'd gotten my start as a musician at 7, when I began the first of many years of piano lessons from Gen Carlson, a neighbor on my block. I got my start as an organist when the choir director at the Cathedral had sudden heart surgery. Someone asked me if I could fill in, and I said "yes." I was only 20 years old at the time. Today, I'm still at it.

For 14 of those years, I was the organist/choir director at St. Jude's in New Lenox. It would have been only 8 years, but the ladies in the choir were so nice to me, my Catholic guilt made me sign on for "one" more year 6 times! Along the way, I played and sang the music at hundreds of weddings, funerals and other family gatherings in the Joliet area, including those of many of you reading this.

In the classroom, I found I really enjoyed teaching. Every cliche about the rewards of teaching is true. There is no profession that provides you with a higher level of affirmation than the look on the face of a kid you've helped.

After two years at Mary Magdalene, I took a job at Troy schools. It was the second time I'd worked at Troy. My very first job in high school was as a janitor at Troy Jr. High. In my second go-around, I taught a 5th grade class. I liked the job, but a couple of failed referendums created so much overcrowding, I and forty 10-year-olds were packed like sardines into a classroom all day. Those were pretty miserable conditions for both me and the kids. I loved teaching, but the situation wasn't working.

So I decided to attend law school. I don't have any lawyers in my family or anything. But several friends who became attorneys encouraged me to give it a try. For the next 3 years, I drove 150 miles round trip every day to attend Northern Illinois University. With a new wife and house in Joliet, quitting my job to attend law school was a big step. But I paid my own way through school by working as a grad assistant and playing every wedding and mass that came my way. My wife held down the fort while I spent the better part of three years on the road.

After law school, I got my first lawyer job at the public defender's office. I knew very few local attorneys or judges. But Judge Mike Lyons put in a good word for me after I figured out how to retrieve his car keys from his locked automobile trunk at the Braidwood Recreation Club one summer weekend.

The first judge I ever met on the job was Judge Bill Penn. He took me in the back hall and graciously welcomed me to the profession. It was a gesture I'll never forget. I practiced in front of many judges I came to know, like and respect. Vince Cerri and Ray Bolden, for example, although you had to really prove yourself with Bolden before he'd lay off you. Tom Feehan was a great judge who died too soon after taking on the robe.

I appeared in front of one or two SOBs, too. It boggled my mind the way some judges lacked the people skills necessary for the job. Getting caught up in the legal system is one of the most intimidating experiences a citizen can face. People want to be treated fairly and courteously. If they are, they can handle almost anything, so long as they know someone actually listened to their side.

At the PD, I handled every type of criminal case. I was assigned to the Domestic Battery court when that call was first established. I also spent a lot of time working with juvenile deliquents and abused minors, a job that was second nature to me after working as a teacher. Juvenile court is tough. There are so many kids; so few of them get actual help.

After three years at the PD, I needed a change. I heard there was an opening at city hall, so I walked the three blocks, took the elevator up to the second floor and asked City Attorney Tom Thanas for a job. For the next 6 years, I enjoyed a successful and interesting time as a Joliet city attorney, eventually rising to the level of First Assistant. I won some important cases that are detailed in my resume and elsewhere on this site. My position at city hall also enabled me have a small hand in naming the Joliet JackHammers and contributing logo and marketing ideas to the club. I also composed and recorded a team song (listen).

While at city hall, I began writing for the Herald News and Daily Southtown newspapers. I found pretty quickly I had a bit of a knack for column-writing. I was a voracious newspaper reader as a kid and teenager. Call me wierd, but I actually sat on the couch and read Mike Royko every day before I went to school. Of all the things ever said about me in the paper, my favorite was an insult accusing me of being "no Mike Royko." That was a big deal to me, appearing in the same sentence with Royko! Well no, I'm not Royko. But I'm proud of the work I've done as a writer. You have no idea how much I've fretted over every word. I hope you'll take the time to read some of the many columns posted on this site.

I eventually departed city hall and, after a year as a private attorney, left the active practice of law. I found as I progressed in the field, I was becoming pigeonholed in areas of law that were low on creativity and inundated with rote paperwork. In conjunction with my ongoing role as a writer and my lifelong love of music, I needed to do more creative work with broader application to my community. So I returned to teaching.

My second stint as a teacher has been a great revelation. As an older person, I have a much deeper appreciation for the role teachers play in the lives of kids. I can still name every one of my grade school teachers. I'm humbled to know I'm filling that role in the lives of so many great kids in this community. Currently, I teach 8th grade general music and 6th, 7th and 8th grade choir classes at Drauden Point Middle School. It's a Plainfield District 202 school located in Joliet, west of Route 59.

In the last few years, I've greatly increased the amount of volunteer work I'm performing in the community. I'm now the vice-president of the Joliet Catholic Academy Alumni Board. I also recently was elected Director of Buildings and Grounds for St. Joe's PONY Baseball. A lot of people have questioned my sanity over my decision to take on that job. But St. Joe's has been a great organization for my son and my family. It's my turn to give something back to it.

As for hobbies, I like to golf, travel and watch sports with my kid. I play the piano for at least a half-hour (usually more) every day. I like to build stuff. In fact, I've remodeled three houses in the Cathedral area in the last 20 years. I'm a reader of just about everything and anything that comes my way, whether by newspaper, magazine, Internet or interpretive sign by the roadside. I don't mind telling you I have a regular night out at my local tavern, Thirty Buck. It's Thursday, if you want to chat.

All in all, I don't think my existence is much different than most of yours. But after reading this history, I hope you can see I've spent my lifetime in this town learning new things every day, trying to make myself the smartest, most well-rounded person I can be. I'm at a point in my life where I'm ready and able to assume a position of community-wide leadership.

Our community has given me a lot: a great education, valuable talents, lifelong friendships, a varied and interesting career and a fine place to make a family and raise my son. Too often, people are content to sit back and let others make the decisions that shape their community’s future. I’m not cut out that way. I want to contribute my talents and skills in a meaningful way. This is no canned political talk: I’m running for office because I want to do my part. 

The judge position I'm seeking is elected by the greater community of Joliet, Shorewood and Rockdale. I don't think you'll find anyone who has stronger roots to that community than I do. And when considering whether I'd be its best candidate for judge, I hope you'll consider the many things you can learn about me on this site. In closing, I offer you the words of my childhood friend Andrew Ndoca.

"Tim Placher is one of the most intellectually sophisticated people I have had the chance to meet. Tim was the Salutatorian of the Joliet Catholic High School class of 1979. With those credentials he could have gone to any university of his choosing. He chose to attend the College of St. Francis. This was the beginning of Tim committing his adulthood to his family, friends and community. From that day he has dedicated himself to making the Joliet community a better place. He has educated its children, worked in its courts, directed its choirs, filled its churches with his musical skills and has written some of the most pertinent newspaper articles I have ever read. We should feel blessed he is now offering himself to us in such an important civic duty. There is no better way for us to enhance the quality of life in the Joliet community than by electing Tim Placher a Will County judge."

Thanks, Andrew. You are a true friend.

             Jerry and Joann Placher, November 26, 1960 

                 
Jerry, as a kid in Rockdale, and in the USMC Band in Washington

  Joann (bottom right) with the Sisters and her 3rd grade class

Joann's college graduation. The Franciscan Sisters provided her a free education.                               

    
       Tim, Peggy and Sally               Patty, Cal and Tim 

                         The Cathedral Area Money Pit 

    St. Raymond's, where Tim's son is a 4th generaton student

          Tim graduated from Joliet's College of St. Francis

Tim has sung, played music and directed choirs at area churches and schools for 25 years.

       Tim has taught students in both Joliet and Shorewood                                                                             

        Tim graduated with honors from NIU College of Law

Tim spent a decade working at the Will County Courthouse, first as a Public Defender, then for 6 years as a Joliet City Attorney.

           
While at City Hall, Tim conceived the Joliet JackHammers' team name, as well as marketing ideas and logo elements used in the team's official logo. He also wrote a song for the team (listen).

Tim has written popular columns for the Herald News and Daily Southtown newspapers for the last 5 years. 

Tim is currently a music teacher at Drauden Point Middle School in Joliet. He has 6 1/2 years of experience as a teacher in Joliet and Shorewood. Above, a bulletin board in his room.

Tim repainted the Bronco Field buildings at St. Joe's Park this past summer. The league thanked him (or perhaps, penalized him) by making him Director of Building and Grounds.

            Andrew and son, Tim and Cal after a Sox game.