For Northbrook village board: Collison, Ebhomielen, Pepoon

In many ways, it's a time of change in Northbrook: The village has replaced, or is in the process of replacing, three department heads and a village manager. There are major development projects happening, such as the renovation at Northbrook Court, and on the way, at the former Green Acres Golf Course and the village-owned Grainger property. The sitting board recently passed a series of ordinances addressing affordable housing. And as is the rest of the world, the village is also finding its way to a post-pandemic new normal. Businesses and residents will still be needing help with that recovery.

This is a snapshot of the work ahead for the board, where there are six candidates running for three, 4-year terms, including lifelong village resident Muriel Collison, an attorney, who was elected in 2017, and 35-year resident Dan Pepoon, a financial adviser appointed to the board in 2020, plus challengers Joy Ebhomielen, a 16-year Northbrook resident with a professional background in finance; Robert Burns, a global trade compliance officer who has lived in Northbrook since 2003; Christopher Lay, an attorney and 11-year-resident; and Ana Mendez McGuinnes, also an attorney, who has lived in Northbrook since 2012.

Collison, Pepoon and Ebhomielen are running together on the Northbrook Caucus slate; Burns, Lay and Mendez McGuinnes are part of United4Northbrook.

From our interviews and what we've observed covering Northbrook meetings over the past several months, the current board works together well, and they speak optimistically about the village's future: All the change facing them is an opportunity, not an obstacle. Ebhomielen is a perfect complement here: She is well-informed on village issues and, as a volunteer over the years on the Northbrook Community Relations Committee, Northfield Food Pantry and in District 27, she sees a trustee position as another way of giving back to the village - a topic Collison and Pepoon speak to as well.

Burns, Lay and Mendez McGuinnes didn't respond to a request for an endorsement interview, and when they filled out our Q&A, they seemed to have copied and pasted the same answers. Even after watching a forum in which they did participate, it's hard to give them the nod.

Collison, Ebhomielen and Pepoon are endorsed.