Endorsement: MacGillis for Round Lake village president

Round Lake voters may experience a sense of déjà vu when they go to the polls April 4 to elect their village president. As was the case four years ago, the contest pits Dan MacGillis against local businessman John Dietz. Only this time, their roles are reversed. Onetime challenger MacGillis is now running as the incumbent village president, and ex-mayor Dietz is hoping to win back his former office in village hall from the man who unseated him.

The question for voters is whether anything has changed in the past four years to alter their decision to choose MacGillis in 2013 by a large margin. For us, the answer is no.

Although progress has occurred slower than perhaps necessary at times, the village under MacGillis has posted several noteworthy accomplishments, from the creation of a new comprehensive plan and reorganization of village departments to some long-overdue steps forward on the realignment of Cedar Lake Road.

MacGillis hopes to build upon these successes with renewed efforts to develop downtown by taking advantage of its Metra station and other transit-oriented possibilities. Dietz justifiably calls out the sluggish pace of progress.

And he offers some good ideas about ways to better bring the community together and do more to fight graffiti and vandalism. But it's fair to note that many of the problems he says MacGillis has been slow to address — the alignment of Cedar Lake Road, for example — also existed during his administration. The village has made positive strides during the past four years, and MacGillis has earned a second term.