Incumbents all returned to Mount Prospect village board

John Matuszak and Steve Polit initially became Mount Prospect village trustees through mayoral appointment. On Tuesday, they won the seats in their own right when voters re-elected them along with fellow incumbent Michael Zadel.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 45-year-old Matuszak, a civilian attorney with the U.S. Navy, received 30 percent of the vote and business owner Polit received 26 percent. Zadel, a roadway maintenance manager for the Illinois Tollway, received 24 percent of the vote, earning him a third term. Newcomer Matthew Stankowicz, 22, received 20 percent of the vote. All results are unofficial.

Polit, 57, cites increasing civic participation among his goals for the upcoming term.

"In order for our village to take that quantum leap, we need to develop a sense of community," he said. "Solutions are with all of us, not just a small number of people who want to move an agenda item forward."

The greatest challenge facing the village has to do with its ability to sustain human services, says Polit.

"We're going to have to be creative as to how we fund these (services)," he said. "I think we're up to it as a board. Right now we're in good shape because the trustees over the past 20 years have done a good job focusing themselves on the long-range goals of the village.

The economy remains the biggest challenge facing trustees who must continue to deliver quality services under fiscal constraints, said Zadel, 62.

"Anything we can do to enhance the business of our community we will try to do," he said. "We've worked for that in the past and will continue to focus our efforts on that in the future."

Like the others, Matuszak emphasized fiscal responsibility. He noted that the village is in a good position financially compared to many other towns. But like his fellow trustees, he worried about residents, saying that imposing new taxes was not an option.