In many towns, voters say it's time for a change

Suburban voters have swept 15 mayors out of power across the West, Northwest and North suburbs - a revolt experts say collectively appears to have roots in pervasive frustration about the economy.

"When people feel (angry), incumbents usually have to go," notes Paul Green, political professor at Roosevelt University.

All told, mayors and village presidents representing a combined 317,740 residents were ousted Tuesday in Bensenville, Carpentersville, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Palatine, Villa Park, Deer Park, Fox Lake, Gilberts, Hainesville, Round Lake, Wauconda, Waukegan, Winfield and East Dundee.

While the old saying that politics is local played out in town after town Tuesday, the larger economy seemed to permeate nearly every issue voters and candidates debated, from pot holes to water quality and traffic lights.

The growing unrest over job loss, foreclosures, taxes and business closures appeared to spark a desire for change among many voters grasping for answers, creating considerable challenges for many incumbents.

"Things have to break in your direction and I felt like everything was a struggle, another hurdle I had to overcome," said Carpentersville Mayor Bill Sarto, who lost his bid for re-election.

Even in the most high-profile of suburban battles this year, the economy appeared as a dominating central figure.

Bensenville Village President John Geils was ousted in large part due to his long-standing and costly fight against the expansion of O'Hare International Airport. Challenger Frank Soto won by a landslide.

But Soto and his winning slate not only criticized fighting airport expansion, they also argued the effort was sapping the village's budget and distracting from attracting jobs and businesses.

In Palatine, 20-year veteran Mayor Rita Mullins was unseated by former Chicago Bear Jim Schwantz, a political novice who criticized the incumbent's handling of downtown development and an increase in vacant office space.

Schwantz declared Wednesday, "I will be an ambassador and sell Palatine to attract new business."

In yet another example, feuding on the Carpentersville board had for months become a hot local topic, filling up blogs and e-mail chains.

In the three-way race, Sarto's challengers blamed the feuding on him and then linked it to the growing number of empty storefronts in the suburb. Challenger Ed Ritter won with 47 percent of the vote.

Green points out that it can be difficult for incumbent mayors to argue they have a plan for economic recovery during a recession.

"It is easier to promise what you are going to do than to defend what you have done," he said.

Indeed, several local elections turned on development issues. Incumbents were sacked with the blame for vacant storefronts and stalled expansion projects while challengers only had to claim they could do better.

In Lake Zurich, a challenging slate swept village posts, taking the village presidency, clerk and three open trustee seats by hitting a nerve with voters on downtown development that hit roadblocks under the incumbent slate.

At the same time in Bartlett, mayoral candidate Micheal Kelly said he struck a cord by addressing business vacancies at the village's town center development. He defeated the outgoing mayor's hand-picked successor.

"People were saying, 'What can you do to attract businesses?,'" said Kelly, a longtime supervisor for Hanover Township.

In a recession, incumbents may often have little control over what is frustrating voters, but that won't make the revolt any less real, says Jim Nowlan, a senior fellow with the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

"When you are frustrated and you don't know how to register your frustration, an election becomes an opportunity to register that frustration," he said. "The economy is creating grave anxieties and worse among many."

Now incoming mayors will likely feel the heat that they had once harnessed in their successful campaigns.

After his upset election for the village's top post, Wauconda Trustee Mark Knigge told the public he would meet immediately with village staff, noting the economic challenges required quick action.

Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and a political-science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that while local issues dominate local elections, sometimes broader concerns, like the economy, prevail.

"Usually incumbents have a re-election advantage," Simpson pointed out. "Voters here are essentially making a judgment that they are dissatisfied with what is happening and they place part of the blame on local government."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=285281">Local elections: The day after</a></li> </ul> <h2>Mayor-elect profiles</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=285165">Larry Hanson, Antioch <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285166">Michael E. Kelly, Bartlett <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285243">Frank Soto, Bensenville <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285240">Ed Ritter, Carpentersville <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285167">Martin Moylan, Des Plaines <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285239">Jerald Bartels, East Dundee<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285170">Dave Anderson, Elburn <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285232">Ed Bender, Fox Lake<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285164">Robert Nunamaker, Fox River Grove <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285178">Rick Zirk, Gilberts <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285247">Mark Pfefferman, Glen Ellyn<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285169">Linda Soto, Hainesville<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285250">Deborah Herrmann, Island Lake <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285235">Jeff Pruyn, Itasca<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285225">Ryan "Todd" Weihofen, Lakemoor<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285237">Suzanne Branding, Lake Zurich<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285168">Dale Berman, North Aurora <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285236">Tony Ragucci, Oakbrook Terrace <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285238">Jim Schwantz, Palatine <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285229">Dolores "Dolly" Vole, Prospect Heights<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285231">James Dietz, Round Lake<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285171">Tom Cullerton, Villa Park <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285241">Mark Knigge, Wauconda<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285173">Judy Abruscato, Wheeling<span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285242">Deborah Birutis, Winfield <span class="date"> [4/9/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>