Lake Zurich village president candidates face off

Nearly 150 people turned out to hear candidates for Lake Zurich village president answer questions on a variety of issues Tuesday night.

During the event sponsored by the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce, candidates Scot Unger, Trustee Suzanne Branding and incumbent Mayor John Tolomei gave their thoughts on topics ranging from Lake Michigan water to transparency in government during a forum at Lake Zurich High School.

The expected questions about the state of downtown development were plentiful, but others wanted to know how the candidates plan to get a share of the stimulus money flowing from Washington, D.C.

"We need connections to people in Washington," Unger said. "Lake Zurich is sort of behind the eight ball at this point. What we can do in the future is to have a mayor who builds relationships and has ties with senators so they know what we need."

Agreeing in part with Unger, Branding went further, explaining it's also important to have projects ready to go.

"You actually need to have plans on the shelf and ready," she said. "You need to have projects that are ready to be built."

Having "shovel-ready" projects isn't the answer, Tolomei said. He said it's smarter to start and complete projects instead of spending money on early phases and then waiting for federal funds to come through.

"We have managed our projects and financed them well from the beginning. We target what we need to do and execute those plans in an expedient manner. We don't leave them sitting on the shelf. But Washington has decided to penalize those of us that have been responsible and diligent in executing plans."

An increasing number of Lake County towns have taken steps to get hooked up to Lake Michigan water. The candidates were asked about Lake Zurich's efforts.

Saying there are other options besides Lake Michigan water, Tolomei is reluctant to spend much more money toward investigating Lake Michigan water.

"We've spent $25,000 on analysis," he said. "It's going to take a lot to convince me to keep spending more money. We can also be looking to go to the next and deeper level of aquifer."

Admitting he's not an expert in this area, Unger said he would defer to the advice of the director of public works.

Branding suggested the village keep moving toward linking up with Lake Michigan water, but it needs to be smart about it.

"Let's look closely at all the options," she said. "We need to go ahead, let's move up, find more about it and get the facts. Then we can step back and make a decision."

The candidates will face off in the April 7 election.