Carpentersville president Ritter winning high marks for leadership

When Carpentersville Village President Ed Ritter marked the anniversary of his swearing in last week, he looked back on a year that included many accomplishments, hard work and a number of frustrations.

Ritter, who defeated incumbent Bill Sarto and local business owner Jim Krenz in the spring 2009 election, said he's focused his first year in office on improving Carpentersville's housing crisis and unemployment woes. The village's unemployment rate is more than 17 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

"I would give myself a 'B'," Ritter said in assessing his performance. "We have accomplished many things like remodeling of Fire Station 2 and the new public works building is moving along. But to get to an 'A', we need to find a way to improve the job market and bring employment to the residents."

Another of Ritter's first-year frustrations is the village's housing market, which ranks among the worst in the county. There are more than 600 pending foreclosures in the village, plus hundreds of empty homes.

"We are getting ready to work with the county to get more houses rehabbed." Ritter said. "There are partnerships with various businesses to help people finance the purchase of a home. We need to start moving some of these rehabbed houses off the market."

The economic development potential in the village is beginning to shine, says Ritter, who spent a year on the village board before running for the top spot. New businesses are opening on both sides of the river and many more have expressed interest in moving to the village.

"There are a lot of good things happening in Carpentersville; there are projects going on all the time," he said.

While he gives himself a 'B,' Ritter is getting higher marks from others for a leadership style that strays from the confrontational demeanor of his predecessor.

For years, Carpentersville's reputation among business owners was of being difficult to work with. More recently, village staff and board members have worked to reverse the reputation.

Mike Sarillo, owner of Village Pizza, said officials worked hard to ensure his pizza shop remained in town after it moved from its original location.

"Ed has always been a good guy to me," Sarillo said. "They are all good people on the village board, and they are doing their job. They all worked hard to keep me here."

Inside the boardroom, the village is seeing a much more unified group of trustees, free of the infighting and bickering that plagued more than half of Sarto's term.

"Ed is a guiding influence who has a lot of experience on various boards," Economic Development and Special Projects Coordinator Janice Murphy said. "There is much more calm on the board and a more cohesive spirit among the board members. Ed is responsible for that."

Resident Bonnie Lipprandt, who has been attending board meetings for the past four years, says Ritter's ability to control the meeting is a strength that has benefitted the village.

"He cautions everyone who speaks out of turn on the board and doesn't let that get out of control." said Lipprandt, who gave Ritter an 'A' grade. "He tries to be as fair as possible, which is important because he is trying to please a lot of people out there."

Lipprandt called Ritter the type of leader Carpentersville needed.

"It's like black and white; everyone's attitude has changed drastically since Ed Ritter got into office," she said. "Before it seemed like everyone in the village was mad at the board or mad at the village president. Now everyone is thinking more kindly."

Ritter acknowledges that the board was productive during Sarto's tenure, but added politics and personal attacks often clouded progress.

"We got a lot of things done when Bill was president, but there was too much discord," Ritter said. "We are getting things done, but with a more cohesive spirit. Each decision is easier to make because there's no bitterness left over from a previous decision. We just move on."