Jackson wins fifth term at helm of Glendale Heights

Longtime Glendale Heights Village President Linda Jackson has handily won a fifth term, according to unofficial results.

Jackson defeated Edward Pope, who ran against Jackson four years ago and lost. With all 32 precincts reporting Tuesday, Jackson had nearly 55 percent of the vote and a lead of more than 200 votes, according to the returns posted on the DuPage Election Commission's website. Less than 13 percent of the village's registered voters cast ballots in the race.

Jackson, a retired newspaper printer, first was elected as a village trustee in 1991 and served in that role until being appointed acting mayor in 1999. She won her first full term as mayor in 2001.

Once a political hotbed, things have calmed dramatically in Glendale Heights in recent years. All three trustees running this spring - Sharon Fonte Sullivan in District 2, Chester Pojack in District 5, and Mary Schroeder in District 6 - were unopposed.

Jackson said her experience was the deciding factor in the race along with her efforts to give residents multiple ways to communicate with elected officials - such as "park parties" and monthly Saturday morning coffees.

Jackson said her willingness to listen to residents resulted in, among other things, creation of a dedicated senior center and an after-school program at the village's Sports Hub.

She said she will continue to stress economic development in her fifth term and build relationships with business owners and real estate investors. She pointed to recent successes in attracting a new owner to redevelop a long-vacant Dominick's store and the opening of several new businesses, including a Bucky's Gas Station, ArtVan Furniture, Starbuck's, Panda Express, Sleep Number, Shell and Dunkin' Donuts.

Pope, a marketing director, is a former village trustee who has long been critical of the way the village is governed, complaining that stability in the president's office has turned into "inertia." He added that under Jackson's reign, the village has consistently raised taxes and fees.