Endorsement: Craig for Hanover Park village president

Challenger Mark Elkins faces an uphill task in his bid to unseat incumbent Hanover Park Village President Rodney S. Craig.

Craig is a fixture in suburban government, not only from his 18 years as Hanover Park village president on top of six years as a trustee, but also because of his vast amount of experience in leadership roles with regional governing agencies. He is past president of the DuPage Mayor & Managers Conference and continues to hold leadership positions in the group. He is a leader on several projects with the Northwest Municipal Conference Executive Committee; serves in leading capacities notably focusing on diversity and economic issues on the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus; has been a regional leader in promoting the interests of suburban towns on legislative issues; is vice president of the Illinois Municipal League; and is a local YMCA board member. He has represented the region on Metra for more than a decade.

That’s a formidable resume to confront, made all the more so because Craig’s diverse range of activism has not distracted his focus from issues in Hanover Park. Indeed, quite the opposite, his diverse activities have both elevated the village’s stature and, more important, strengthened opportunities to address core concerns in Hanover Park. With good reason, Craig emphasizes his work on public safety issues and taxation in the village, as well as his commitment to balanced budgets and healthy business practices.

Elkins is a worthy candidate for a leadership position. He has been a Hanover Park parks commissioner for 30 years, has a useful business background in commercial lending and real estate and can speak with authority on financial and policy issues facing the village.

But he doesn’t offer the level of leadership experience and broad influence that has become second nature to Craig. Craig has been a consistent, hard-working and dedicated leader in numerous roles in Hanover Park for more than three decades. He still has the creativity and energy to promote the interests of the village. He gets our enthusiastic endorsement.