Young candidate says he's ready to lead Mount Prospect

Even though Matt Stankowicz is only 22 years old, he's says he's ready to become a village leader.

Just out of college last June, Stankowicz hopes his youthfulness is an asset as he runs for Mount Prospect trustee.

"I was joking with the (village) clerk that I was probably younger than anyone who's ever run for the board before and definitely younger than who's on the board now," Stankowicz said.

The Wheeling High School graduate who has lived in the village all his life is a commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade where he's self employed.

He recently received bachelor's degrees from DePaul University in finance and accounting. He's never been on a political board before, but he believes his education and work experience for the last four years would come in handy as a board member.

He also wants to be the voice of young people in town when the board makes decisions about projects that will affect residents for years to come.

"My goal is to help the next generation and I saw (running for trustee) as the opportunity to do the most good," Stankowicz said.

He said he's the only true challenger to the board as the other three contenders for the three open seats all were elected to the board or appointed.

He said he sees the current board make up with two appointees, Steve Polit and John J. Matuszak, running for election for the first time as offering a chance to win a seat.

Polit was appointed by Mayor Irvana Wilks after Richard Lohrstorfer resigned and Matuszak was appointed after Timothy Corcoran stepped down. Incumbent Mike Zadel was previously elected.

Another challenger Ken Schmalzer filed to run for a trustee seat, but was removed last month from contention when his petition was challenged for improperly numbered pages.

Stankowicz says two issues are critical for the village - the redevelopment of the small triangle parcel in downtown Mount Prospect and fiscal responsibility. The downtown project has stalled due to lack of funding, so what the board does next is paramount, he said.

Also, he'd like to make sure that village projects like the recently-approved neighborhood resource center on the village's south side prove their worth to taxpayers. With a $3,300 per month lease, the center and other projects like it need to be tested by some mechanism to determine if they're successful programs, he said.

Village officials said that the success of the center will be monitored after it opens, which is expected in July.