In November 2021, the Library’s Board of Trustees swore in two new trustees to fill vacant seats. We wanted to learn more about these Morton Grove residents and public servants, so we asked them to complete a short Q&A. Enjoy!
Mark Flores
Your life summed up: Grew up wanting to be an international street artist, ended up a suburban dad working at a small marketing agency.
Why you wanted to join the Board of Trustees: Growing up, the library played an integral part of my development. I was always at the library, whether checking out “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, attending educational programs like “Rocket Building,” or looking at microfiche for my midterm papers. It was a safe place to be yourself, find yourself, or just be by yourself. My kids have also enjoyed the library and its programming since we moved to Morton Grove. When I found out there was a place on the Board of Trustees, it seemed like a natural fit for a place to give back to a community that has embraced us with open arms.
Fun fact about yourself: I was the featured artist in Rick Bayless’ XOCO Restaurant in Wicker Park. The restaurant no longer exists, but the pieces are in two upscale restaurants in the West Loop, Cruz Blanca and Lena Breva, and I was recently commissioned to do some pieces for local Morton Grove residents.
Favorite place in Morton Grove: The forest preserve. Not having grown up close to nature, it is one of my favorite places to wander around (on a bike).
Last thing you checked out from the library: An issue of Ad Age magazine that I thought the agency I work for was featured in, only to find out we never made the print edition!
Favorite books: 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, The Westies by T. J. English, My Bloody Life by Reymundo Sanchez. I once interviewed Reymundo Sanchez and was given a tour of his haunts in the city. It was fascinating and I ended up getting his sister—the future author of Lady Q: The Rise and Fall of a Latin Queen—a job at the newspaper I worked at in the early 2000s.
Favorite movies: Dracula, The Irishman.
Mohammed Hussain
Your life summed up: I was raised in Rogers Park and Lincolnwood, studied and traveled around the world, and came back to Morton Grove to raise a family with my wife of 16 years.
Why you wanted to join the Board of Trustees: I love the library and I wanted to do my part to continue its record of excellent service to our community. My family has benefited from the library in innumerable ways, and as a board member it is my hope that every Morton Grover can find as much benefit in this institution as we do.
Fun fact about yourself: Somehow my Spanish is better than my Urdu and Arabic.
Favorite place in Morton Grove: Super Cup, MCC, and Austin Park in the summer.
The last thing you checked out from the library: World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and a Roku stick.
Favorite books: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks by Thomas E. Mann, Good Economics for Bad Times by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and any travel writing by Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, or Peter Hessler.
Favorite movies: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Apocalypto, Ghost Dog, Malcolm X, and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring.