Letter:

Mayor candidate has contributed to excellence

My husband and I are longtime Naperville residents. We love our city; it is amazing. But that didn't just happen. It is the collective result of many individuals working together and sharing a vision. One of those is Benny White. A natural leader, Benny has served Naperville for many years and in a number of roles - District 204 School Board, Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and Naperville City Council. In all those positions, Benny has been a tireless advocate for our community.

Now, Benny is running for mayor and we believe he is the best candidate to lead our city. There are so many reasons to support him. Having raised his family here, he has a vision and a passion for what Naperville is and what it can be. Serving in so many different capacities around the city, he knows what needs to be done. Benny will continue to do the hard work that is required to ensure that Naperville remains one of the best places to live.

I hope you will join our family in voting for Benny White for mayor.

Deb and Dennis Dean

Naperville

Candidate known for service, deep roots

As a 35-year Carol Stream resident and proud mom of four young adults (all born and raised in our wonderful community), I am writing to recommend Rick Gieser for village president in the April 4 election.

Rick, too, has deep roots in the community. He was born and raised in Carol Stream, attended Carol Stream schools, has tackled many diverse issues as a longtime village trustee and is actively involved in the community. He is collaborative and extremely responsive, lives full time in the community and is sure to be present and in person at meetings and community activities, maintains an informative social media presence where he shares news and historical content and is a big booster of all things Carol Stream.

His presence does not go unnoticed. Rick can be found literally everywhere people gather - from Veteran's memorial celebrations to Christmas sharing and holiday decorating contests, prayer breakfasts and historical events. He helps to coordinate the July Fourth parade, works to recognize community volunteers, celebrates community at the summertime concert series. He is both visible and accessible. Reaching Rick is easy - he is transparent in all he does online and freely shares his contact information.

Rick "walks the walk" and "talks the talk" when it comes to green initiative, sharing his son's entomology efforts to save the bees, planting a sustainable butterfly garden in his own front yard and actively pursuing green initiatives within the village - from recycling efforts, creek clean up and tree planting, to advocating for additional bike trails and solar energy. Rick is at the forefront sharing his belief that nature inspires us all to do better, be better stewards of the land and better citizens of our community.

I hope you'll join me in casting your April 4 vote for leadership for the future. Vote Rick Gieser for village president of Carol Stream

Janice Youngwith

Carol Stream

District needs change on school board

Initially, I was encouraged that the D200 school board election has shined a light on the problems in the district and with the current school board. Candidates have come forward to propose focusing on improved student performance, better financial management, more transparency and improved dialogue with and participation by, the district's parents.

Unfortunately, this resulted in political diatribes and false characterizations of those candidates as radical or extreme. This should be a nonpartisan election and those concerned parents who are running and care deeply about the quality of the education of their children should expect other candidates to promote their platform, not resort to false "ad hominem" attacks.

Further, school board members and others supporting them have claimed that they have been "doing a great job" when this is clearly not the case for the following reasons.

• More than half of the students are not performing at grade level in reading, math and science and this has been on a serious decline for a decade. Student performance and improvement plans are seldom discussed at board meetings.

• During the last failed referendum a few years ago, it was uncovered that the district had been grossly underfunding annual maintenance, safety and security projects. Only this last year has annual funding reached an adequate level. More recently however, it's been disclosed that there are still tens of millions of dollars required for what the district characterizes as "critical" such projects. This is gross mismanagement.

• For many months, concerned parents came to school board meetings to object to certain content that they viewed as inappropriate in libraries and classrooms and pleaded for restricted access to these materials for their children, but the district took minimal action to address their concerns. In one example, numerous parents objected to a recent book addition to school libraries, but the board considered and approved the book in closed door meetings, in violation of school policy, such that it took a FOIA request to disclose the transcript.

The Daily Herald ignored these issues in its superficial analysis of the D200 board candidates. The parents and students in District 200 deserve candidates who will address these issues.

Bob Stozek

Wheaton

These school board members excel

Through the last few years, we have experienced an upheaval in many parts of our lives. Fortunately for our students in Glen Ellyn District 41, there has been a dedication to progress and well-being in our schools. Our schools are ranked in the top 10% of the state due in no small part to our teachers, administrators and board members.

Our board, including candidates for reelection Jessica Buttimer, Ted Estes and Julie Hill have worked to move our schools forward. Among their accomplishments are grants won for mental health services, advocating for gun free schools and closing on land behind Churchill Elementary to expand our curricular offerings.

They are committed to providing the best possible education for our kids, and recently they helped to approve a comprehensive facilities study that will outline infrastructure options for finally implementing full-day kindergarten. Our district is the only one of the Glenbard feeders that does not have a full-day K option and one of just 10% of districts in the state without the option for full-day kindergarten. It is clear other districts recognize the value of investing in our youngest learners and Buttimer, Estes and Hill are working to do the same for our students.

These leaders have the experience, vision and dedication to continue progressing our district into the future. I hope you will join me in voting to reelect Buttimer, Estes and Hill for Glen Ellyn School District 41 school board.

Amy Becker

Glen Ellyn

High standards, fiscally responsible

I have had the honor of knowing John Rutledge for the last 13 years. He is someone you can always count on to do the right thing, always. He is fiscally responsible and believes that teachers teach and board members mind the budget and make sure that the educational standards of the district are adhered to. My three children have attend CUSD200 schools since Jefferson Preschool. Two have graduated from major universities with honors and the third is an honor student at Wheaton North.

This was achieved because the teachers in the district care and the administration have attracted the very best. A vote for John will ensure that these high standards continue.

Ray Sanguinetti

Wheaton

Integrity, intelligence mark school candidate

Please consider voting for Jane Russell, candidate for the D211 School Board on the April 4 consolidated election ballot. I've known Jane, a retired high school chemistry teacher, for many, many years; we're both very involved with our Chicago Northwest Suburban Alpha Phi Alumnae Community.

Jane is intelligent, sensible, fun and a woman of impeccable integrity. I've seen her interact with people; she's kind and respectful but clarifies and explains if that is required. Jane is part of a slate of four outstanding candidates. I will vote for Jane because I have no doubt she will be a terrific asset to D211's Board. I will also vote for Jane's "slate-mates" and hope you will vote for all four of them, too.

Barbara Illian

Hoffman Estates

Business experience, bi-partisanship are key

The Daily Herald got it right when writing that voters have two fine choices - Scott Wehrli and Benny White - for Naperville's next mayor. An important part of the job is acting as an ambassador, representing the city to its residents, business community and the world outside our borders. Both Wehrli and White would excel in that role.

The DH seems to favor White largely because of his six years on the City Council. But to govern is to decide, and with incumbency comes a record. I was proud to vote for Dr. White the first time he ran, but then he voted against landmarking the historic Old Nichols Library, now home to the successful Gia Mia restaurant. He also voted against the humane pet ordinance, which prohibits selling animals that come from puppy mills. That ordinance passed 5-4.

Dr. White's top issue has been diversity, equity and inclusion, which can be viewed as an updated term for affirmative action. If you think that issue is paramount in Naperville, vote for him. But if you think business experience, staunch bi-partisanship and a lifetime of community service are more important, then vote for Scott Werhli. That's what I plan to do.

Joe McElroy

Naperville

Partisan views should not be part of campaign

As a member of the Palatine community for over a decade, I have seen a lot happen in our local elections. I listen in on board meetings and keep abreast of what is happening in our district; after all, I do have kids in this district. I may not agree with all members of the Board of Education, but one thing I do know is that a lot of things are out of their control and making statements like Lynn Stanczuk (Palatine) did in her letter to the editor (published on Saturday, March 11) is neither fair, nor factual.

To begin with, I am certain that I am not on the same political page as Mr. Dombrowski or Mr. Cramer, but in a nonpartisan election, that does not matter. I do think they bring good balance and fair perspective to the board.

Public comments are just that, public; and it is clear there is a divide in our community, that has become detrimental to our kids. The quotes made in Ms. Stanczuk's letter are taken out of context and have no perspective. I am sure they are part of a 3- to 5-minute public comment. To say that these gentlemen are at the helm of these statements is wrong. No matter what side of the fence a board member sits on, stating they should be held responsible for public comments at the podium is not reasonable.

Lastly, the Teacher's Union financially backing four candidates, when they have already greatly funded the three not running, is a gravely bad trajectory for our community.

While I may not agree with all that Mr. Dombrowski and Mr. Cramer have done in their tenure, I do think they deserve to keep their spots on this board, with the addition of candidates Saam and Velez.

Marci Sheen

Palatine

Reelecting trustee can protect lifestyle

Jim Cecille started his political career as a Zoning Board of Appeals Commissioner in Streamwood. Jim was elected as a village trustee in 1987. Jim has and would like to continue to ensure that the village will continue to not increase village real estate taxes and maintain or minimize fees and water rates.

A 50 years-plus resident, this Army veteran has:

• Participated in various children's sports athletic programs.

• Participated in numerous civic organizations including being the current AMVETS Commander.

• Advocated for transparency and ways to keep our residents informed.

• Implemented programs to assist current businesses and potential new businesses to stay and enter our village.

Over the last couple years, we have seen our everyday living costs increase in other areas. Reelecting Jim to another term as a village trustee is one step in maintaining our living cost within the village and not to devalue our lifestyle.

Robert Migala

Streamwood

Two city council candidates stand out

There are many strong candidates running excellent campaigns to serve our community on our City Council. However, two candidates that continue to stand out are city council candidates Josh McBroom and Meghna Bansal.

We should not elect candidates to a role as important as city councilman who lack experience and the know-how for the job. Bansal and McBroom are the only non-incumbents running that already have experience holding elected office. As finance professionals, they both have sophisticated real-world experience managing money and reviewing budgets and financial statements.

Most importantly, they have demonstrated thorough commitment to our community through extensive community service and by holding leadership roles in numerous Naperville not-for-profits.

Josh McBroom and Meghna Bansal are ready to serve our community. Let's elect these two wonderful candidates. They will be well qualified and experienced additions to our council dais.

Kenn Miller, Nancy Quigley,

Suzanne Hart, Bill Collins

Naperville

Bond proposal flyer is misleading about tax rate

School District U-46 recently sent out a flyer of "5 Facts" about the upcoming bond proposal that is on the April 4 ballot. The flyer states this is a "zero tax rate change"; however, the district conveniently omitted Fact #6. Without approval of these new bonds, the tax rate will go down.

For far too long, the taxpayer, an important stakeholder in the educational system, has not been part of the equation. There has been little or no consideration given to the taxpayer.

Every year the district tax levy is near the maximum allowed and at almost $350 million of tax revenue, this is a sizable amount of new taxes. Yet the number of students in the district continues to decline.

I fully understand that with the state's lack of adequate educational funding, an excessive burden is placed on the local taxpayer. But maybe there is an opportunity here to provide some much-needed taxpayer relief by cutting the size of the new bond purchase, thereby reducing the bond debt causing a tax rate decrease.

This would delay or eliminate some building projects, but if not a critical life safety issue, a delay and new plan should be doable. Time to put the taxpayer in the equation. The former superintendent commented that the district should remain perpetually in debt with taxpayers paying over $30 million a year in debt service. How does this statement make the taxpayer a respected stakeholder?

This only builds on the taxpayer's feeling of frustration and lack of financial trust in the District.

Voters, don't be misled by this bond proposal. A no vote means the district tax rate will decrease and so should your taxes. Homeowners have to live within their means. The district needs to do the same.

Bob Bucaro

Bartlett

Candidate gives back with her heart

I want to tell you about my amazing friend, Nazneen Hashmi, running for a trustee position in the village of Streamwood. Her qualifications speak volumes: Professor, double master's, certified auditor, Hanover Township Committee on Youth, Streamwood Community Relations Commission and much more. I met Nazneen at a candidate forum she arranged over 10 years ago and again at many Streamwood events, such as the diversity programs, youth programs, women's programs. She is so passionate about the needs of others, and recognizes them, because she was a single mother and survived with our community's help. She gives back with her heart.

Remember, every single vote counts. Candidates have won or lost by one or two votes. Vote for Nazneen.

Jan Klee

Streamwood