Five candidates file fast for 4 Naperville council seats

There will be no free rides onto the Naperville City Council next spring, with five candidates already filing for four open city council seats.

Those five - three incumbents and two challengers - filed their nominating petitions at 8 a.m. Monday, meaning they will be entered into a mid-December lottery to choose who gets the coveted first slot on the April 4 ballot.

Incumbents Judith Brodhead, Kevin Coyne and John Krummen filed along with newcomers Julie Berkowicz and Mike Isaac.

The candidates all say they see the value of the work the council does to keep Naperville a pleasant and desirable place to live, and they want to take an active role in that work during the next four years.

Brodhead, 65, is an English professor at North Central College who says the city will need an experienced perspective to tackle challenges such as aging demographics and the loss of corporate campuses to Chicago.

Coyne, 41, is an attorney wrapping up his first 2-year term on the council who says there's much work to be done to lower debt, increase reserves, enact government cost-sharing and reduce real estate taxes.

Krummen, 52, is an engineer who says he's the only candidate with the expertise to help guide the city through improvements needed at Springbrook Water Reclamation facility in order to continue operating with a renewed permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"I absolutely love this job," Krummen said. "It's been a complete joy."

Berkowicz, 55, said she decided last week to run for a seat on the council after roughly two years of involvement in Boy Scouts, nonprofits, her church and the Knoch Knolls subdivision's homeowners association.

"Our youth are a major concern to me," Berkowicz said. "There are so many ways we as individuals can help."

Isaac, 34, said he's running to represent the "next generation" of Naperville leaders who want to maintain the city's strong foundation and community traditions while modernizing processes and policies for the future.

"One of my passions behind running is ensuring that we have a consensus plan for our future years," Isaac said.

Candidate filing continues until Dec. 28.

Incumbent Kevin Gallaher has pulled a packet and is expected to file, while Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board member Benny White says he intends to run as well.

Bob Fischer, president of the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation, and former candidates Steve Peterson and John Colletti also say they are considering running for a term on the council.

At least 17 candidates would have to file for the four available seats to trigger a February primary election to narrow the field to no more than 16, but that appears unlikely.