Candidates debate Itasca’s priorities
Three incumbents are running on a party slate to retain their posts on the Itasca village board while trying to fend off one challenger in the April 5 election.
Ellen Leahy, a 16-year trustee, is running with Lucy Santorsola and Marty Hower, both who were appointed to fill vacancies on the board in 2009. All three agree the coming extension of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway is a top priority for Itasca.
Challenger Patrick Wartan, a trustee candidate who was defeated in 2009, also agrees the expansion will have a crucial impact but said the board needs more diversity and must be more responsive to residents.
All four candidates spoke to the Daily Herald via written questionnaires and some through interviews.
“Itasca is a small village, but our population is diverse and it doesn’t make sense for all of the governing body to come from the same niche,” said Wartan, 25, an attorney.
“I think diversity on the board is a good thing. There is a disconnect between residents and what is going on at village hall,” Wartan said. “Even in the last election, they were worried about flooding, curbs, lighting and I haven’t seen much improvement in that regard.”
Leahy, 52, an industrial sales representative, contends the current board has invested in flood mitigation with roughly $1.5 million spent on improving the Happy Acres retention pond, currently building a new wastewater treatment plant that will improve sewers, and maintaining streets under a budget crunch.
Instead, she said plans to expand western access to O’Hare International Airport with the extension of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway is the crucial issue facing Itasca.
“Engineering is moving quickly and our goal is to maintain a seat at the table,” Leahy said. “It is critical to get people to Itasca, to get exchanges at Prospect, Arlington Heights and Rohlwing roads, and to bring employees to our business parks. This is the time for economic development.”
Hower, 52, said he agrees and feels his career as an engineer offers the board a technical perspective that will be helpful both with the western access project and issues like flood mitigation.
“You need someone who can understand and ask questions on a more technical level, how these projects are going to help and whether it’s the best way to spend our money,” he said.
Santorsola, a 46-year-old projects manager, said maintaining Itasca’s small town unity is the other key to attracting new businesses and residents, an idea echoed by all three other candidates.
She highlighted village accomplishments, like the police department’s recent recognition by the World Health Organization as a Safe Community. The department was the first in the state and the fifth in the nation to earn the honor in 2009.
“Public safety involves the community working together to maintain this status at public events, festivals and being prepared for emergencies,” she said. “This not only promotes quality of life, but establishes the village as a tight-knit community where businesses will want to relocate.”