Endorsements: Cabachuela, Ross, Trillhaase for Mundelein trustee

No matter who Mundelein voters choose for village trustee in the April 6 election, they'll reshape the village board.

Seven candidates are vying for three, 4-year terms being vacated by veteran trustees Ray Semple, Dawn Abernathy and Robin Meier.

Voters will decide among: Village Clerk Sol Cabachuela; business owner Willie Davismckennie; Realtor Ray Mullen, a former GLMV Chamber of Commerce executive director; retired lawyer Edith Reese; FAA engineer Jenny Ross, who is a former Fremont Public Library District trustee; IBM executive Angela Trillhaase, who briefly served on the village board in the 1990s; and Tim Wilson, a salesman and Mundelein Economic Development Commission member.

The field represents a range of backgrounds and civic involvement. They cited many of the same issues — better communication, more help for local businesses to recover from the pandemic, fiscal responsibility and downtown redevelopment.

We like the mix of experience and ideas Cabachuela, Ross and Trillhaase will bring to the board.

Cabachuela, the village government's only elected official of color, is bilingual and has deep roots in Mundelein's growing Hispanic community. She'll represent the entire village, but provide a link to help better reach and engage Hispanic residents. She stresses community building, envisioning partnerships with groups to help residents learn about topics, such as mental health, and host events such as passport renewals and flu shots.

Ross said the village should make licensing, permitting and registration processes user friendly by transitioning to online forms and payment. She thinks Mundelein should take an active role in the future of property set aside for the scuttled Route 53 extension, noting future development will have a large impact on the village's west side.

Trillhaase offered ideas to help all businesses, not only retail and restaurants, recover from the pandemic. She suggests building interest in them by using social media to stage contests, create spotlight podcasts and crowdsource ideas. She questions the role brick-and-mortar retailers will have in Mundelein's future and suggests leaders seek businesses with social activity.

All the candidates are civic-minded and should stay involved in the community, but Cabachuela, Ross and Trillhaase are best positioned to replace departing veteran trustees on a board facing important issues. They are endorsed.