Mullins will seek 6th term in Palatine

Rita Mullins will seek to serve the people of Palatine for at least four more years.

Mullins, who's now in her fifth term as mayor, announced Wednesday she will run for a sixth in the local election next April.

"I still have things to do in the community," said Mullins, 63. "I feel I have the wisdom of my years of service."

She joins an already crowded field for the village's top elected post.

Having earlier announced their plans to run are former councilman Warren Kostka, former Chicago Bear Jim Schwantz and local business owner Vito Manola, who narrowly lost to Mullins in 2005.

Mullins didn't seem concerned about the crowded pool of opponents.

"Two of those candidates (Schwantz and Manola) have never held public office," she said. "They've never served on a board or commission or given back to the community in a way I feel is important to do."

Kostka, she said, left the council "for no reason other than he decided to quit."

Still, Mullins plans on stepping up her campaign by assembling more volunteers and support from businesses and residential groups.

Mullins counted Palatine's recently increased bond rating and overall improved financial position as successes during her current term. Continuing downtown development is a priority, but she attributed the slow transformation to the bad economy.

Building a new police station is also a growing need, but the project is on hiatus because of Palatine's pending litigation with Sears, Roebuck and Co. The retail giant is suing the village over the condemnation of the Sears Essentials store on Hicks Road, also the desired site for future police headquarters.

Changes at the county and township level are also on her radar. She wants to see residential property in Cook County assessed annually instead of every third year. And officials will continue to push for a repeal of the 1 percentage point sales tax increase and at least explore breaking away from Cook County.

To offset the loss in revenue to neighboring counties, she talked about establishing a five-mile buffer zone around the edges of Cook County where commercial property taxes would be reduced.

"That's the only thing I think is going to save some of the businesses," she said.