Roth wins another term in Streamwood

Streamwood Village President Billie Roth claimed victory over longtime Trustee Jim Cecille in her re-election bid Tuesday night.

Incumbent trustees Michael Baumer, William Carlson and William Harper also appeared win re-election, beating challenger Khaja Moinuddin, a member of the village’s zoning board of appeals.

“I’m very grateful to the people of Streamwood,” Roth said. “I think people are very happy with the way the village is being run.”

Cecille said he is disappointed voters didn’t see to the same need for change that he did.

“Anybody can balance a budget and repair the streets,” Cecille said. “The one thing (Roth) can’t do is get out of Streamwood because no one in these neighboring towns is supporting her.”

With all 20 precincts reporting, Roth had 1,616 votes to Cecille’s 775.

In the trustee race, Baumer had 1,658 votes, Harper 1,591, Carlson 1,573, and Moinuddin 965.

Cecille, who has two more years left on his trustee term, said he’ll probably not seek re-election in 2015, but would fight for residents until then.

Though the campaign lasted only a few months, it was fueled by 24 years of personal history between the political rivals. The election essentially was a rematch of the 1989 contest in which Roth defeated Cecille to take the president’s office for the first time.

Since then, the two have more often than not buried their differences to jointly represent a Streamwood that became known for its political stability and professionalism.

This year’s rematch arose mainly from Cecille’s renewed criticism that the village was lacking both communication skills and outreach in its dealings with both residents and neighboring communities.

He also suggested reopening debate on subjects the rest of the village board had considered closed — such as its prohibition of video gambling.

Cecille argued that the village needs greater transparency in its budget — being clear about the fact that it spends between $40,000 and $50,000 on Summer Celebration each year, for example — as well as greater promotion of itself as a place to do business.

And he claimed that Roth’s challenges of state Rep. Fred Crespo and state Sen. Michael Noland in previous elections created tensions with those legislators and weakened Streamwood’s position in the region.

On Roth’s side was the fact that Streamwood recently landed Fresh Express — a division of Chiquita Brands — not only as a new tenant for the former Duraco Products site but as the village’s largest employer.

She described herself as being a very detail-oriented leader, a characterization Cecille would not challenge.

One of the ideas Cecille put forward during the campaign was to use some of the surplus in the village’s annual budget to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes. He said the growing number of rentals among Streamwood’s stock of single-family homes was changing the nature of its neighborhoods for the worse.

Roth agreed that the number of rentals is a concern, but disagreed with Cecille’s idea of using public funds for private assistance. She said a program the village implemented to require the licensing and regular inspections of home rentals is more effective.

The three incumbent trustees seeking re-election supported Roth over their longtime colleague. Cecille supported Moinuddin’s bid for trustee, saying that the village board could use a new voice and some diversity.