Lisle's Broda wins third term as mayor

Lisle Mayor Joseph Broda won a third term Tuesday, promising to complete the ongoing $10 million revitalization of the village's downtown.

With all the ballots counted, unofficial totals showed Broda retaining his seat with 1,844 votes to challenger Gary John Ledvora's 1,610.

Broda and Ledvora clashed over the village's 5 percent utility tax instituted to replace declining sales tax revenues caused by recent losses of Acura and Infiniti auto dealerships.

Broda, 64, also defended his handling of the village's $82 million budget despite criticism from Ledvora that infrastructure and public safety needs such as new police cars were going unmet.

"People see the changes that my leadership has brought in over the years and they liked it, so as far as I'm concerned the results speak for themselves," Broda said. "We've held the line on taxes with the exception of a slight increase in the utility tax and overall we've done a fantastic job providing top-notch services to our citizens."

Broda said he's looking forward to getting right back to business, but not before he visits his 95-year-old mother to share the good news.

"Once mom knows how we did, we'll get right back to making Lisle relevant again in the 21st century," he said, emphasizing the ongoing $10 million downtown redevelopment program. "We're going to make a statement with our downtown and the gains we make with our economic development," Broda said.

His margin of victory was closer than expected, but Broda said he's not complaining.

"You know, in this game if you win by one vote, you're a winner," Broda said. "Certainly I'm used to a bigger margin of victory, but a win is a win."