Incumbent faces challenge in West Chicago Ward 7

West Chicago has only one contested aldermanic race, and it’s in Ward 7.

Incumbent Matt Fuesting, a member of the city council since 2006, is facing a challenge from political newcomer Graig Neville.

Fuesting, an attorney, is endorsed by his 13 fellow aldermen and Mayor Mike Kwasman.

Fuesting, 49, emphasizes his record as a member of a city council that has “consistently reduced budgets” while improving services to residents. He voted five times to reduce the city’s annual budget by roughly 5 percent, with the 2011 budget reduced by 6.8 percent.

The city’s program of privatizing some departments has helped cut costs without reducing services, he said.

Neville, 40, said his background in civil engineering would bring a different perspective to the board. Maintaining and improving infrastructure is critical to attracting new businesses, he said.

“Wise investment in key infrastructure can create jobs and boost the economy,” he said.

Fuesting’s infrastructure goals include improving every street and road in West Chicago, with money coming from a dedicated road rebuilding fund primarily from sales tax revenues.

However, Fuesting said his No. 1 issue is continuing to adequately fund the city’s police department, which is adding two police officers to patrol the streets. Some officers are now on 12-hour overlapping shifts to provide more coverage during busy periods.

Neville also is concerned about public safety, particularly speeding on residential streets. Speed bumps have been added to several streets in Ward 7, along with additional stop signs at some intersections.

A civil engineer for 18 years, Neville says he can offer his expertise in transportation infrastructure to make streets safer. For example, adding pavement stripes at each stop sign would reduce the number of “rolling stops,” he said.

Both candidates offer innovative ideas for boosting the local economy.

Fuesting proposes a campus in downtown West Chicago that would include the West Chicago Park District and the College of DuPage, bringing more people into the downtown area, which in turn would encourage more businesses, such as restaurants, to locate there.

Neville, a volunteer with We Grow Dreams greenhouse in West Chicago, which provides training and jobs for people with disabilities, suggests a test aquaponic program for locally grown food — such as vegetables and fish — could also create local jobs.