Birutis wins for Winfield village president
Deborah Birutis will be making the transition from Winfield trustee to village president.
With all 13 precincts reporting, Birutis bested incumbent Rudy Czech, Trustee Angel Oakley and outgoing West Chicago Community High School District school board President Tony Reyes in one of the most contentious local races in memory.
According to unofficial results, Birutis received 1,146 votes, Reyes tallied 878 votes, Oakley got 362 votes and Czech finished last with 196 votes.
Meanwhile, Joel Kunesh, Jack Bajor and Jay Olson appeared to win the three four-year seats on the village board. They defeated Walter Powrozek, Joseph DiNicolo, Timothy Allen and Erik Spande.
"I am happy and thankful for all of the residents of Winfield who came out to vote," Birutis said of her victory. "I promise I will work hard to fulfill my campaign promises of strong finances, developing our town center and repairing our infrastructure, which includes our roads."
Czech, who was seeking his second term in office, simply didn't have the resources to counter a barrage of criticism about his administration. Birutis was backed by Winfield United for a Better Community, the group that supported Czech four years ago.
Even campaign signs became an issue in the race when several of Reyes' supporters were cited by the village for having signs that were too big. Birutis and Czech didn't put up signs.
Despite all the factions that emerged, Birutis expressed optimism about her ability to work with others.
"I am going to listen to everyone, and I am going to do what is best for the majority of Winfield," she said. "My door is always open for anyone who wants to voice concerns or their ideas for Winfield."
Birutis said her first priorities as village president will be to appoint someone to her vacant trustee seat, hire a qualified village manager and organize a strategic planning session with the board.
During the campaign, Birutis opposed a plan to resurrect the village's vehicle sticker program to raise money for road repairs. On Tuesday, she said village leaders may need to appeal to voters for a possible solution.
Officials estimate Winfield would need to raise about $850,000 annually to resurface all of its roads on a desired 15-year cycle. The town spends about $150,000 a year for street repairs.