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Bensenville mayoral candidates disagree on village's growth

The two sitting Bensenville trustees seeking to succeed former village president Frank Soto in the April 4 election say Bensenville has made progress in recent years, but disagree on whether it's moving fast enough.

Frank DeSimone and Henry Wesseler recently told the Daily Herald editorial board they agree on many things regarding what's best for the village's future.

But Wesseler said he's the best candidate to lead Bensenville into the future because he's been part of the village's rebirth.

In 2008, a Forbes magazine article said Bensenville topped its list of the country's fastest-dying towns. But since being elected to the village board 2009, Wesseler said he's worked hard to get housing values up and industrial park vacancies down.

"We recently established a bunch of special service areas to revitalize the industrial park. We redid the streets, lighting and sewers and gutters," Wesseler said. "Our vacancy rate (in the industrial park) is less than 4 percent. When we first took office eight years ago, it was 18 percent. Because we've invested in the community, we have a near zero vacancy rate."

DeSimone, however, said for the $10,000 the village spends monthly on a lobbyist, he would like to have seen more development than "cigarette stores and gas stations."

He said he's worked for more development since he was elected in 2015 and the village "deserves it" based on its proximity to O'Hare Airport.

"We are coming out of the depths of disaster but movement has happened really hot and heavy in the last two years and there's more to be done," DeSimone said. "But there's more fat to be trimmed to produce that. We need to be friendly with these businesses that come to our village."

Wesseler, however, pointed to some new businesses, including hotels and retail development, taking shape at the former Legends golf course.

"For someone to say that we haven't developed is erroneous. We also have more than one restaurant coming in to downtown Bensenville," Wesseler said. "Yes, we do have cigarette stores along Irving Park Road. When you're on the edge of Cook County, you cannot tell someone they cannot put a business in so I struggle with saying 'no you can't.'"

A former park district commissioner who has served on the village board since 2009, Wesseler is a public service representative for the Illinois secretary of state's office. He grew up in Bensenville and is a Master Mason/Shriner and a member of American Legion Post 1205.

DeSimone is a 16-year resident who works as a detective in a neighboring town and is president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 170. He was elected to his trustee seat in 2015.

Soto stepped down as village president to become an arbitrator with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.

Frank DeSimone
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