About Rory Hoskins
Forest Park neighbor since 1999. Mayor since 2019. The first African American ever elected to public office in the village.
Rooted in Forest Park
Rory Hoskins and his wife, Monique, have lived in Forest Park since 1999. They raised four children here and now have a grandchild.
Rory got involved the way many neighbors do. In 2005 he started coaching youth soccer, and he is still involved today. In 2006 he was appointed to the village’s Traffic and Safety Commission.
A record of firsts
In 2007, Forest Park voters elected Rory a village commissioner, making him the first African American ever elected to public office in Forest Park. He served two terms and chose not to run for a third in 2015.
Along the way he helped start some of the village’s best-loved traditions. He co-founded Forest Park’s annual Juneteenth celebration, the Juneteenth Family Pool Party at the Park District, and pushed for the creation of the village’s Diversity Commission, established in 2015.
On April 2, 2019, Forest Park elected Rory mayor, the first Black mayor in the village’s history. He took office on May 13, 2019. In April 2023, voters re-elected him with about 64.5 percent of the vote.
Mayor for every neighbor
As mayor, Rory has focused on public safety, small business and a village where everyone is respected. His first term brought Forest Park’s first Hispanic Heritage Month and Pride Month celebrations and new recognition for the village’s veterans. He has put security cameras on the village’s main corridors, recruited new restaurants and shops to Madison Street, and won state reimbursement for the village’s ambulance runs to the Blue Line terminal.
In 2026, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle appointed Rory to a five-year term on the board of the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority, giving Forest Park a voice in how transit across the region is run.
Beyond the village, Rory has spoken out against modern-day slavery in Mauritania and supports Mauritanian activists working to end it.
Education and service
- B.A. in Government, The University of Texas at Austin (1992)
- Master of Social Work, Loyola University Chicago (1999)
- J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law (2012); member of the Illinois bar
- 2022 Edgar Fellow, a bipartisan leadership program for Illinois public officials
- Appointed in 2023 to the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Chip in
Keep Forest Park moving forward
This campaign runs on neighbors, not special interests. Every contribution pays for yard signs, mail and the volunteers knocking on doors before April 6.