Barrington candidates seek continued improvements
Though Barrington certainly has endured more intensively political times, the ongoing issues of downtown redevelopment, pending legal action against Canadian National Railway and the village's pioneering efforts toward public pension reform still generated only a barely contested trustee race on April 5.
Incumbents Paul Hunt and Jim Daluga are running on a slate with newcomer Robert Windon, while longtime resident and businessman Michael Kozel is independently seeking one of the three available trustee seats.
Kozel said he's running to use his personal knowledge and experience positively in the community, rather than out of displeasure with the current board. Nevertheless, the 30-year resident has criticized the village's legal fight against the Canadian National Railway's purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern railroad, instead of preparing for its inevitable impact on traffic.
Kozel, who's owned and operated the village's Carpenter On Call business since 1978, believes his perspective from living and running a business in the village for so long would be a boon to the board.
“I think there's some things I can bring to the board that don't currently exist,” he said. “People are not 100 percent happy with what's going on.”
Windon, an assistant McHenry County state's attorney and village resident for just over three years, believes he would bring the perspective of residents with young families, a segment of the population not currently represented on the board.
His professional experience of working with suburban police and fire departments, he said, would be a plus on the board.
“I feel I can bring a perspective on small-town law enforcement that not a lot of people have,” Windon said.
He supported the village's recent efforts to promote pension reform for police officers and firefighters. Current board members had described the system as financially unsustainable. Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation that means new hires will have to wait longer before they retire with full benefits.
As far as the CN fight, Windon believes it was right to exhaust the village's legal options first.
“But I say that with some hesitation, because I know how much money we've spent on that situation,” Windon said.
He believes money ought to now be collected toward building a necessary grade separation where the EJ&E crosses Northwest Highway.
Daluga agrees with that, adding that the village has already successfully acquired $2.8 million in grant funding for that work but eventually will need more. He hopes work on a roadway underpass will at least be under way by the end of the four-year term he's seeking.
Daluga, a two-term incumbent, said he's proud to be a part of the current village board that has been successful in opening up communication with residents and keeping the village financially sound in trying times.
This year's openings of McGonigal's Pub and Park Avenue Wine Bar & Merchant, along with many other new business, marked a rebirth of the village's downtown, he said.
Daluga said he still wants to be part of the search for the perfect new development for the vacant corner at Hough and Main streets.
Hunt, who also is seeking his third full term, cites the unfinished business of that project as a prime motivator for his re-election bid.
His wife's diagnosis with cancer in April led to a difficult 2010, but even after her unexpected death two weeks ago he remains committed to being part of the village's leadership.
“I have grown to be very fond of the people on the board,” he said.
Hunt began his service on the board as an appointed trustee in October 2002 during the politically tumultuous term of former Mayor Marshall Reagle. In those days, when the village board was dramatically divided on almost every issue, Hunt was selected by Reagle as a political neutral.
The appointment was the first unanimous vote by the village board in quite some time. He went on to win the most votes of any trustee candidate in the April 2003 election.