Matthew Myers: 2025 candidate for West Chicago City Council Ward 7

Bio

Office Sought: West Chicago City Council Ward 7

City: West Chicago

Age: 49

Occupation: Engineer

Previous offices held: None

What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the city council respond to it?

Estimates show that the West Chicago population is not growing, and is projected to decline over the next few years. If this is true, it starts a chain reaction of less shopping, less investments, and a higher tax burden on those residents who are here. The issue to be faced is how to turn this trend around, and the city council should respond to this by taking steps to make it easier for housing and business developments to come to West Chicago.

I’ll answer how this can happen in some of the following questions. At a time when house prices and rent are out of reach in most communities, West Chicago can step in here and be an affordable place to live. By taking steps to increase the population, we can break the chain reaction.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

West Chicago has long committed to conservative budgeting and spending, so the state of our community's finances is strong. Over the years, consultants have produced growth plans that have generally given the same advice.

The most recent comprehensive plan has 180 recommendations, and they aren't all massive building projects. I think the city should work more urgently and address more of the recommendations in parallel, knowing that some of them will pan out and some of them won’t. Doing this would send a clear signal that the city is taking the recommendations seriously.

The current and past budgets are well balanced without any clearly extravagant uses of taxpayer money. One area of spending that can be curtailed is the maintenance demand of buildings under the city’s control.

To accomplish the previously mentioned planned development, they have been acquiring properties which means the city needs to pay to maintain them and it means there is no property tax revenue coming in.

A more urgent execution of the plan should turn these over to private developers which will increase property taxes and decrease the maintenance costs.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

I think the most important infrastructure project the community must address is to “translate the city-owned land into development ready parcels” (quote from the Central-Main Street Redevelopment Plan).

There has been a lot of research and plans for how to revitalize West Chicago, and it’s a chain of events that reads: To bring more money into the city, we need more people. To bring more people, we need more housing options.

Apartments that are a short walk away from a Metra station that will allow people to easily get to and from work is the first piece in this puzzle. Preparing this site can be paid for using a combination of grants, municipal bonds, and proceeds from the sale of the property to private developers.

If there is a project that needs to be tabled, the building of the new city hall campus can wait. City services can be moved to other properties owned by the city (being held for future development) while housing is built across from the train station and the funds from those sales contribute to the new city hall campus.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your city council.

At work, I am frequently involved in problem solving sessions that involve lots of ideas, some reasonable and some not so reasonable. During the discussion, there are inevitably some controversial recommendations. But instead of reacting to those “crazy” ideas with ridicule, my style is to ask clarifying questions — not in a combative way — to make sure I fully understand their motivations first.

Often the motivation is good, but the perception of the solution is negative and when you understand each other’s positions, it’s easier to reach agreement.

I will be effective in city council because I ask questions until I fully understand all sides of the story. Residents, businesses, and the government all play a role here, and there is rarely a choice that gives everyone exactly what they want. I will do my own research, listen to the arguments, and assume everyone in the room wants the best for the city, even if we don’t all agree on how to get there.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

My family purchased the Wiant House on Washington Street and worked to restore it into a building that could be an asset to the city instead of a liability. We were successful — it now houses a thriving cake shop, Kamila Cakes, and we are planning on renting the upstairs apartment to bring more housing to West Chicago.

Through this process, I learned a great deal about how to get things done in the city. I also walked along Main Street and talked to the owners and heard what is important to them. I am the best candidate for this job because I have real-world experience on the business side and what it’s like interacting with the city.

On the resident side, I have practical experience interacting with the city through multiple appearances at the Administrative Adjudication court (lol). Now I'd like to bring my problem-solving skills to the government side.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

The West Chicago downtown area has a smattering of business that are all pulling in different directions. Vintage clothing, resale, Mexican restaurants, retail stores, salons, a bar, etc. Their interactions with city hall are minimal, despite the many comprehensive plans mentioning that a thriving downtown area is essential to growth. I think they should form a coalition of downtown businesses to allow them to speak with one strong voice and make sure city hall is prioritizing what is important for them.

One example is parking. I hear from plenty of the businesses that the parking spaces in front of their shops are occupied by non-customers which causes their customers to find it difficult to visit. A coalition of the downtown businesses could work with city hall on a more focused strategy to act on the revitalization plans, and I think it would produce better results than the status quo where individual owners have individual gripes.