Richard J. Billik, a longtime resident of Brookfield and one of the founding members of the village’s most successful political party, died April 29 in Orlando, Fla. He was 80 years old.
Mr. Billik was born in Jan. 12, 1928 in Chicago. A veteran, he worked his way through law school and moved to Brookfield where he and his wife, Eleanore “Ele,” raised two children.
A fixture in Brookfield politics as an original member of PEP (People’s Economy Party), Billik was the village’s longtime legal counsel, serving from 1961-77 and 1981-89. He was first named to the post during the administration of Philip Hollinger, who was elected president in 1961.
After PEP’s defeat in 1977, Mr. Billik and PEP were on the sidelines until 1981, when Pierce McCabe swept the party back into power.
Though he never held elective office in Brookfield, he was seen by political colleagues as PEP’s acknowledged leader.
“He was the guiding force behind the PEP Party,” said John Curin, a former village trustee and clerk in the 1970s and 1980s. “His wisdom and knowledge of the law radiated down to everyone who participated in politics.”
Mr. Billik was active in the party until 1999, according to Cathy Colgrass Edwards, one of the many residents who learned local politics from Mr. Billik. Edwards was elected village trustee in 2005.
I always saw him as a silent leader,” Edwards said. “He was so knowledgeable and such a mentor that people automatically went to him. It felt right to get his OK.”
In the 1989 and 1993 he was elected clerk of Proviso Township under the Proviso Unity Party banner.
In his spare time, Mr. Billik loved to play golf at the Riverside Gold Club, where he was a member and at the Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando. He enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren and with his wife of over 50 years, who preceded Mr. Billik in death on May 5, 2007.
He is survived by his children, Rick Billik and Janet (Mark) Holecek; his grandchildren, Michael Holecek and Keith Holecek; and his half-brother, William Kirk.
Services were private. Woodlawn Funeral Home in Orlando handled arrangements.