2 run for Geneva 3rd Ward seat

Voters in Geneva’s 3rd Ward Tuesday will choose a replacement for Ray Pawlak, who is stepping down.

Their choices are a political newcomer or a 12-year veteran of the Geneva school board.

Becky Hruby, 36, lives on Manchester Course. Dean Kilburg, 62, lives on East Side Drive.

Why is Kilburg seeking public office again? “I think 12 years on the school board was just about right,” he said. “I stepped back to re-energize.” He is used to serving the community, starting with a stint on a planning and zoning commission in Iowa in 1978. He has served on a Kane County jail construction advisory board, the Geneva strategic plan committee, and on the board of directors of the Geneva Community Chest.

“It looked like sort of a new challenge ... my wife said ‘I was wondering when you were going to get back to something,’ ” Kilburg said.

Hruby teaches at her church, volunteers at Harrison Street Elementary School and tutors people in English as a Second Language.

It was a crumbling stretch of Manchester Course alley that got Hruby into city politics. It hadn’t been repaved in more than 20 years when Hruby and her neighbors rose up in 2009, upset the council was again pushing off the repair due to its cost. They got the city to split the project, rebuilding half last year and half this year.

“The whole point of this is to be an advocate for my ward,” Hruby said. She’s met with homeowners upset about the condition of Elm Street. Even if Hruby isn’t elected, she plans to help them get answers, now that she has the experience. “They just want somebody to speak for them.”

Hruby and Kilburg were asked what they consider the biggest public-safety concern of their neighbors. Hruby’s answer is ward-specific: Lack of sidewalks, particularly on a route to Harrison Street School and to Jaycees Park. “Residents have been warned by Geneva Police that it isn’t safe for kids to ride their bikes in the street, but there is no alternative,” she said in a Daily Herald questionnaire. Hruby suggests city officials meet with residents to discuss the costs — pros and cons — of installing sidewalks.

Kilburg cites the use of marijuana and other drugs by young people, based on conversations with parents and city officials. His experience on the school board showed him how drug use affects youths and their families. “We also need to treat alcohol and marijuana arrests (when young people are involved) as something more than an ordinance violation, such as a speeding ticket,” he wrote.

Kilburg favors keeping the half-percent increase in sales tax Geneva instituted in 2007 to pay for public infrastructure and reduce reliance on property taxes. He said basic services, key infrastructure such as water and sewer, and economic development as top priorities when it comes to city spending.

Hruby cited resource allocation, finding a balance between historic preservation and redevelopment, retaining existing businesses and adding new businesses as top priorities.