Naperville chooses 3 returning members, 1 newcomer for council

Naperville City Council will welcome back three experienced leaders and bring in one new voice after Tuesday's election.

Voters re-elected incumbents Judith Brodhead, Kevin Coyne and John "Johnny" Krummen and also chose newcomer Benny White from a field of eight candidates seeking four 4-year seats.

Brodhead led all vote-getters with 6,760 in unofficial final totals with all 126 precincts in DuPage and Will counties reporting.

Coyne came in second with 6,200 votes, followed by White, who tallied 5,566 and Krummen, who secured 5,175.

Newcomers Julie Berkowicz, Michael Leland Isaac, Michael Strick and incumbent Kevin Gallaher rounded out the field.

The new city council members will be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at the municipal center, 400 S. Eagle St.

They will join Mayor Steve Chirico, who is just rounding out his second year in office after taking the reins in May 2015 from Mayor Emeritus George Pradel, who had held the post for 20 years. They will join fellow council members Paul Hinterlong, Patty Gustin, Rebecca Boyd-Obarski and Becky Anderson.

Brodhead is the council's longest-tenured member, having first been elected in 2009. A 65-year-old associate professor of English at North Central College, Brodhead said she looks forward to keeping the city on a positive track after addressing issues such as the recession and the heroin crisis.

Coyne, a 41-year-old attorney, says he wants to continue taking active stances on topics such as government consolidation and property tax reduction.

White, a 52-year-old retired Army officer whose term on the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board is expiring, says he's a service-oriented leader who wants to focus on keeping Naperville a safe and lively place that residents will want to call home.

Krummen, a 53-year-old mechanical engineer, says his professional expertise will come in handy as the city addresses water and electric infrastructure needs.

Improvements needed to the city's wastewater treatment plant are indeed among top issues confronting Naperville, as are business development efforts on the south side of town and in select strip malls with large vacancies.

This election marks a departure from 2015, when all eight seats expired at once. The top four vote-getters in that election won 4-year terms and weren't up for re-election this year. The next four vote-getters, Brodhead, Coyne, Krummen and Gallaher, had to run again this time.