Endorsement: Filippone, Gens, Pissarreck for Mount Prospect village board

Mount Prospect is going to be losing a lot of experience on the village board after the April 6 election.

Mayor Arlene Juracek decided against seeking reelection. Gone with her will be eight years of experience as mayor and six years of experience as a trustee before that.

In addition, Michael "Mike" Zadel is stepping down after 20 years as a trustee on the village board, One-term Trustee Eleni Hatzis withdrew from a reelection bid after her filing petitions were challenged. And one-term Trustee William "Bill" Grossi is running for mayor rather than reelection.

That's three seats on the village board that will go to newcomers, and there could be a fourth as well if either Paul Hoefert or Colleen Saccotelli win the mayoral race instead of Grossi.

Only three candidates will be on the ballot: planning and zoning Commissioner Agostino "Augie" Filippone, library Trustee Terri Gens and nonprofit association leader Peggy Pissarreck.

But that does not mean the race is uncontested. Brian Maye, a one-term school board member in Mount Prospect Elementary District 57, jumped into the race at the last minute as a write-in candidate, and while running as a write-in is a clear disadvantage, it is not unheard of for candidates to win that way in Mount Prospect.

Our endorsements go to the three names on the ballot: Filippone, Gens and Pissarreck.

As a group, they appear to be stronger change agents than a town as thriving and special as Mount Prospect might need. But we hope that once in office, each will appreciate and continue to grow from the wisdom of the experienced colleagues they'll work with.

Beyond all that, they embrace social justice, inclusiveness and economic recovery, and individually, each has great strengths.

We're impressed by Filippone's collaborative nature: "I'm not interested in playing politics. I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting to work, providing real solutions to things that have direct impact on resident lives."

Gens is another collaborator, one committed to helping Mount Prospect families and businesses recover from the pandemic and the economic downturn it spawned. Her heartfelt devotion to helping others is inspiring.

Pissarreck is a strong personality who puts a priority on transparency, responsiveness, inclusiveness.

While each lacks experience, we suspect they will make up for it with an energy that will help Mount Prospect continue to move forward.