Municipal candidates file for Feb. 22 primary

Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson was among candidates old and new who filed as candidates Monday for a potential Feb. 22 primary election in the villages of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Palatine and the city of Elgin.

Primaries would be held in if more than four candidates file for each available seat before 5 p.m. Nov. 22. The general election will follow on April 5, whether or not the field of candidates requires narrowing beforehand.

Schaumburg trustees George Dunham, Hank Curcio and Mark Madej, as well as Village Clerk Marilyn Karr, joined Larson in filing for re-election on the first day of the filing period.

They were quickly followed by resident Peter Dombrowski, the first non-incumbent, who filed for a trustee seat.

Schaumburg resident Brian Costin, who announced his intention to run for mayor at the beginning of the year, did not file, but said he expects to by next Monday's deadline.

Larson said he decided to seek a seventh term as mayor because he believes he continues to be effective, and because the recession has put Schaumburg at a critical period in its history.

He's also concerned by Costin's goal of selling off the village's airport, convention center and baseball stadium, which Larson believes are necessary tools for Schaumburg's continued economic growth.

“I don't want to see the town taken apart brick by brick by brick,” Larson said. “Once you sell the assets of your community, what have you got left?”

Costin said Dombrowski was the first of two like-minded residents planning to file as trustee candidates within the week. Although they're not currently running as a formal slate, that could change after the filing period ends next week.

Hoffman Estates

Five candidates filed in Hoffman Estates for three available trustee seats.

Incumbents Anna Newell and Gary Pilafas filed petitions at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Gary Stanton, chairman of the village's Plan Commission, and Craig Bernacki, a park district commissioner, also filed as expected.

Alison Hertz, a west side resident for six years, was the only mild surprise. Hertz, 40, is a children's book author with a degree in city planning from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She said Trustee Cary Collins helped convince her to run as his replacement.

Collins, who will step down from his seat on Nov. 22, lives a few doors away from Hertz.

Pilafas, Newell and Stanton will form a slate with Mayor William McLeod's support. But Hertz doesn't think it's necessarily an advantage.

“Unfortunately, the mayor doesn't really have a great following right now,” Hertz said. McLeod's term is not up this cycle.

Palatine

Three incumbents and one challenger filed Monday for Palatine's available village council seats.

District 2 Councilman Scott Lamerand and District 5 Councilman Jack Wagner filed for re-election while resident Kollin Kozlowski filed to challenge Wagner, who's held the seat since 1987.

District 3 Councilman Jim Clegg, appointed last year to finish Dan Varroney's 4-year term, filed for a full term in his current seat.

Elgin

Seven candidates filed Monday for three seats on Elgin's city council.

But among those not filing were candidates for mayor, a group expected to include incumbent Mayor Ed Schock and Councilman Dave Kaptain. Both said they would file petitions later this week.

Among the filers were incumbent councilmen John Steffen and Mike Warren, and newcomers Mike Robins, Tom McCarthy, Manfred Czymmek, Toby Shaw and Anna Moeller.

Daily Herald staff writers Ashok Selvam, Kimberly Pohl and Christopher Placek contributed to this report.