Nine-term incumbent and library trustee vie for office of Streamwood village president

The April 1 election for Streamwood village president sees Poplar Creek Library Trustee Asad Khan challenging nine-term incumbent Billie Roth for the opportunity to lead the village through the spring of 2029.

Khan said he’s concerned about a declining population in the village, which he believes hurts revenues.

“Shocking information is that in 2015 we were 40,000 people,” he said. “The new numbers are 36,000 and some change. That’s a 10% drop, which is unbelievable. People are leaving. Why? Why are people leaving, and what are we doing to address that?”

Khan wants to modernize such services as online bill paying to make it easier to do from a phone, as well as the village encouraging more open dialogue about what residents would like to see.

Roth said she has a proven track record and wants to continue an existing practice of being both forward-looking and financially responsible.

“I have seen a lot of changes over the last almost 40 years,” she said. “I would like to be reelected one more time. I think I’ve learned a lot over these years and been through a lot of decades of changes in Streamwood, and would like to finish what I’ve started.”

She touts the village’s balanced budget despite challenges to cover mandated pension requirements for police and firefighters as well as managing to forgo reinstating a local grocery tax.

Roth acknowledged the village’s population decline, but said it is similar to what other towns have experienced while noting the board has prioritized diverse housing stock to make the village affordable for younger homeowners.

Khan argued the village should do more to pursue manufacturers, but Roth retorted that development potential is limited and the village’s commercial vacancy rate is less than 5%.

Khan has no concerns about his ability to work well with the existing trustees, none of whom will be changing as a result of their own unopposed reelection bids, because he knows they too have only the village’s best interests in mind.

But he believes the village board should conduct more community surveys and town halls.

Roth said she would like to expand on that with a Government 101 Academy that would better explain the particular responsibilities of the village in contrast to and cooperation with those of other local governments like the townships, schools, parks and libraries. Similar to successful community engagement programs like the citizens police and fire academies.

Additionally, Roth said the opportunity for people to speak exists at every village board. She noted meetings are lightly attended, suggesting the same was likely true of attendance at Khan’s library board meetings.