Elk Grove returns 3 board members to finish their work

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, incumbents Pat Feichter and Christine Prochno each appear to have earned another four-year term as Elk Grove Village trustees, and Jeffrey Franke was elected to his first full-term.

The unofficial election results show Prochno was re-elected with 28 percent of the vote. The 12-year veteran's key issues included preserving the tax base, communicating with residents and addressing the needs of seniors

"I really want to continue to fight the O'Hare expansion into Elk Grove Village," said Prochno, whose election marks her fourth term as trustee.

After running for state representative and losing, Prochno said she took nothing for granted. The 56-year-old physical education teacher went door-to-door to repeat to residents what she assured them 12 years ago, that she would be their voice.

"That's what I feel I am," she said, adding that the strength of the board rests with the accessibility of its trustees.

"At the local level you have to feel you can make contact with your trustee," she said.

Voters also awarded Feichter with a fourth term.

The North Park College political science instructor said the election reflected voters' support of the policies the board has implemented over the last few years.

"It makes me feel we have a mandate from the people," said Feichter, who received 28 percent of the vote and has very definite ideas about the board's first order of business.

"The most important thing is for us to continue to support the renovation and development of the business park, which has become the economic engine of Elk Grove Village," said Feichter, 64. "I want to continue that effort, which is essential for us in terms of keeping taxes low for Elk Grove Village residents."

The election marks the 52-year-old Franke's first to the position of trustee. A technical sales representative, Franke was appointed in 2007 after Bart Dill stepped down. He received 27 percent of the vote.

Like Feichter, Franke cites sustaining the industrial park as one of the board's biggest challenges.

"With this economy, businesses are downsizing and closing," he said. "We need to be creative to the point that we keep this tax base going for the next four years."

Franke is also concerned about flooding and says he will fight to ensure that the dam in Busse Woods functions as a flood control as it was designed to do.

While new to the village board, Franke is not new to local government, having served on the village's Zoning Board of Appeals for nine years before becoming a trustee.

"Being the new guy, I'm very happy with the results," he said. "I was appointed before, so I feel vindicated now."

Mitch Gora, an Illinois Department of Transportation employee who came up about 200 votes short in his 2007 bid for election to the village board, received 17 percent of the vote.