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Endorsement: Birch, Dzierzanowski for West Chicago council

Communication with residents, or the lack thereof, is a predominant theme among the four candidates seeking two contested seats on the West Chicago City Council.

In Ward 4, recently appointed Melissa Birch faces challenger Wayne Woodward, a former city council member. In Ward 7, Noreen Ligino-Kubinski and Nicholas Dzierzanowski are squaring off to replace Matt Fuesting, who is not seeking re-election.

All four candidates strike us as well-prepared, sincere and interested in making sure city residents know what's going on in their community. In particular, they cite the city's long-delayed water bills, the unexplained departure of its police chief and the cost-cutting decision to scrap the city's newsletter.

In Ward 4, we favor Birch, who has a host of experiences in civic involvement and has served on the city's plan commission/zoning board. We also were impressed that, after the water billing issue came up during our endorsement interview with the candidates, she did more research and offered some additional insight on the issue via email.

In Ward 7, we like Dzierzanowski, who, though not an incumbent, hardly could be called a political novice, having served on the council from 2003 to 2013 before running unsuccessfully for mayor. He vows to improve communication by resuming his “Notes from Nick” email to Seventh Ward residents and pushing for resumption of the city newsletter. Birch and Dzierzanowski are endorsed.

Slusher: How to use our endorsements

We believe we have a duty to endorse

Nicholas Dzierzanowski, left, and Noreen M. Ligino-Kubinski , right, are candidates for West Chicago Ward 7 in the 2015 election.
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