Meghna Bansal: 2025 candidate for Naperville city council
Bio
Office sought: Naperville city council (Vote for 4)
City: Naperville
Age: 49
Occupation: Vice president finance and operations
Previous offices held: Wheatland Township Trustee (2021-23)
What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the city council respond to it?
I’m a mother of two daughters. Their safety is my number one priority, and I know that’s true for every parent. The city council must always adequately fund and empower our police to do their jobs without political interference.
Our local leaders must accept that bad people come to Naperville with the intent to do bad things and break the law. There is a target on our back because we are a prosperous community and have a large youth population.
Naperville is safe, but we are not crime-free. I have completed the city’s Citizen Police Academy program. This experience reinforces my belief that the evolving safety threats to our community is the most serious issue confronting us.
We must maintain Naperville’s reputation that our police will deter, discover, and arrest those who come here to break the law or endanger the safety of our neighborhoods.
Our local leaders must put Naperville’s needs first.
While I'll bring a new perspective and different life experiences to the council, my vision for Naperville is rooted in our community's success and legacy. And it all starts with keeping your family and our city safe.
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?
I want to cut property taxes, ensure your tax dollars are spent wisely and manage Naperville’s budget responsibly. I have an MBA and am a financial professional for a company with operations across the globe.
Gov. Pritzker’s initiative to eliminate a preexisting grocery tax may erase up to $6 million in recurring revenue the city had previously received.
In this environment, we don't need to grow the government; we need to grow the economy.
Like any family would do if they confronted a loss of income, the council must work with the staff on every aspect of the budget to identify reductions and adjust spending priorities.
The council must also prioritize attracting investment and businesses to Naperville because economic growth provides our city's fiscal resources.
It is also incumbent on our community’s other taxing jurisdictions to stop raising property taxes to the maximum amount. If the park board of commissioners or our school boards choose tax increases over efficiencies or prioritization in their operations every year, they are adding to your tax bill and increasing your cost of living.
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 have been studiously observing the council meetings for the past two years and previously served as an elected trustee of Wheatland Township.
The city must invest in infrastructure projects. We cannot defer these investments, including projects like the North Aurora overpass.
However, the council must prioritize where the city spends your money. This past budget cycle, a divided council directed staff to bury the last 4-5% of the electric utility’s distribution lines.
This decade-long project will cost tens of millions of dollars.
I believe that program wastes our ratepayer’s money because our utility is so reliable already. When energy prices are volatile, we do not need to add this expense to your monthly bill.
If this initiative is not stopped, city crews will go through neighborhoods and backyards to install underground cables and remove the power lines. Mature trees and our resident’s landscaping will be significantly disturbed.
I don’t believe residents were properly informed of the plan to send city workers into their backyards for an invasive project with limited benefit.
If elected, I will make revisiting this decision a priority.
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.
I have the experience and track record of listening, bringing people together, and working as a team to implement a shared vision. As I run for office, I often think back to the people who set Naperville’s culture and built the community into what it is today.
Longtime Mayor George Pradel made a tremendous impact on my family’s life. More than 20 years ago, when we were new residents, he took the time to listen and offer us advice.
His suggestion led my family to help co-found the Indian Community Outreach and organize Naperville’s India Day Festival and many other community educational events.
I will always put the needs of Naperville and my neighbors first. I don’t want the city council to become extensions for those in power in Springfield.
I will always remain an independent voice and vote for the needs of our community.
I have spent the last two decades involved in civic organizations and nonprofits, where I helped build consensus and deliver action.
My family instilled in me the value of hard work, service, and, above all, responsibility for ourselves, our community, and our future. I promise to work hard for you and the community we love.
What makes you the best candidate for the job?
Over two decades ago, my husband and I decided Naperville was where we wanted to call home, raise our family, and grow our business. It was the best decisions of our life.
While I'll bring a new voice and perspective to the council, my vision for Naperville is rooted in our community's success.
I've attended every city council meeting and served on the planning and zoning commission over the past two years to study the issues. I have also been an elected township trustee, and White Eagle HOA board member for 8 years, which gives me solid understanding of working with government and handling public money.
Over the past years, groups and activists have tried to remake Naperville. The council has been asked to implement the policies and practices of larger, urbanized communities.
We must solve the problem in a way consistent with our long-held values and community character.
Regardless of the fiscal challenges ahead, I will never vote to allow video gambling parlors or slot machines to take over our neighborhoods and downtown.
I think we should keep what makes Naperville unique.
I will work daily to improve my neighbors’ lives and keep Naperville a great place to live, raise a family, retire, or grow a business.
What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
Part of what makes our community special is our legacy of strong neighborhoods, civic organizations, and community events that bring us all together. Our community’s increasing population and diversity is a strength that adds to our culture, the vibrancy of our neighborhoods, and the local economy.
According to census figures, more than 40% of our community comes from a diverse background, and more than 20% were born in another country.
Through Mayor Pradel’s encouragement, my family volunteered to build civic organizations that helped celebrate and bring belonging to our Indian community. The India Day Festival resulted from his leadership and suggestion years ago.
Prior generations built a resilient, welcoming community through neighbors working together in community activities that advanced our common goals and fostered lasting friendships and connections.
To build on that legacy, I would like to encourage public art installations at several locations across the community that celebrate the variety of cultures and perspectives in Naperville.
We can tap into local talent, artists, and our incredible volunteers to bring this idea to life without substantial taxpayer resources.