John Laesch: 2025 candidate for Aurora mayor

Bio

Office sought: Aurora mayor

City: Aurora

Age: 51

Occupation: Union carpenter

Previous offices held: Current Aurora Alderman-at-Large since 2023; East Aurora Unit District 131 board member (2015-19)

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? Also, what makes you the best candidate for the position?

Many of my views directly contrast with the way that the current mayor is running the city. As an example, instead of using taxpayer money to subsidize luxury apartments we need to bring better paying jobs so more people can afford to live and work in our city and have disposable income to spend on local restaurants.

In addition to the misuse of public money to support corporations like Penn Entertainment, the issue that motivates me the most is the climate crisis. As a BPI-certified green builder I know that we could be doing so much more to make people’s homes energy efficient and move to alternative energy and futuristic fuels like green hydrogen.

The thing that makes me a better mayor and city leader is that I am thinking about the long-term future of our city and working to improve the lives of everyone who calls Aurora home, not just the developers who donate to political campaigns and walk away with lucrative deals. I am responsive, hardworking, honest and I have the ability to inspire others to get behind a new vision. I understand how multiple layers of government work together and I’m ready to lead on day one.

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

The most important issue is ethics. We currently have a “pay to play” system. The excessive use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize development deals has pushed the city debt to $518 million.

These lucrative development deals go to corporations who donate to Mayor Irvin’s campaign. For example, a group of major players, called Fox Valley Developers (FVD) donated more than $116,000 to Irvin’s campaign. They received more than $21 million in subsidies from the Aurora taxpayers for various development deals. Irvin’s ex-wife has a “ghost” job with another development company, JTE, that is also owned by Michael Poulakidas, one of the people tied to FVD.

There are many examples of these politically connected people who are reaping significant financial rewards from taxpayer-subsidized deals.

I will work to pass and enforce limits on campaign donations, as well as entities seeking financial incentives of any kind. We could also pass a clean elections law, similar to the one used in Arizona, that allows for public funding of campaigns. I do not take donations from anyone who seeks or has sought contracts with the City of Aurora and we need to move in this direction for every politician.

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?

As previously discussed, the city will have accrued $518 million of debt at the end of 2025, if Irvin remains in office. This does not include nearly $500 million in pension liability debt.

That debt includes a proposed $120 million City of Lights Center, a 4,000-person concert venue which has been hurriedly and poorly planned.

Here are several things we can do to address the growing debt:

1.) I would immediately end the plan for the proposed City of Lights Center and work with the Aurora Civic Center Authority to achieve financial solvency.

2.) The overuse of TIF districts has contributed to the debt. When elected mayor, I will reduce or eliminate the use of TIF’s, and lobby the state of Illinois for meaningful TIF reform.

3.) I will work to bring more state and federal grant dollars to our city to offset the costs of various projects.

4.) The city has been loosing $4.3 million in federal funds as a result of an incorrect census count. Despite recent federal ICE raids, I would support initiatives to help our residents feel safe, so that our city can be recounted and regain federal funds.

5.) I will reserve the use of any city-funded incentives to companies that pay their workers a living wage.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you 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 would put the City of Lights Center on the back burner.

A relatively simple infrastructure project to bring to completion is the Orchard Road sound wall that has been in the works for over six years and is missing less than several hundred thousand dollars to move it to “shovel ready.” I would use gaming funds to complete the project without a Special Service Area.

We have an estimated 17,000 lead pipes in Aurora and I will continue to prioritize their replacement in conjunction with replacing old water mains and our combined sewer system. All three of these infrastructure improvements are needed. We are losing about a third of our water either to leakage or water metering issues.

The Broadway corridor in our downtown is another multi-year project that is nearing “shovel ready” after several years of replacing water mains and other utilities. Moving this project to completion is important to the revitalization of our downtown area.

Overall, I intend to direct more casino gaming tax money toward neighborhood infrastructure improvements (sidewalks, streetlights, curbs, gutters and water infrastructure) to reduce the reliance on SSA taxes to complete these projects.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think it will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your city council.

I lead by example. The council needs to exercise greater civility in their deliberations, and I believe that this is something I have demonstrated throughout my time on the Aurora City Council. I believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect and setting the example as the leader of the council.

If elected as mayor I will make sure to work in close collaboration with the rest of the council to make sure that issues in their wards are being addressed. The current administration has ignored the concerns of residents who are dealing with pollution from Hello Fresh, a pre-packaged meals factory.

There are a number of concerns with missing sidewalks and dangerous intersections that ward aldermen would like addressed. Overall, I intend to shift more resources into the neighborhoods to address lots of these issues instead of handing millions of tax dollars over to private developers.

I am a consensus builder who wants to make sure that all views are considered, and if the group agrees, incorporated. The best ideas are those built in consensus. I have found that the key is to keep the group focused on the goal is to keep pulling the conversation back to that goal.

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

We need to be forward thinking and position our city to benefit from the growing green collar economy. Despite the probable disruption of funding at the federal level, I want to move our city into an early adopter of green building standards and incentive programs that make people’s homes more energy efficient and climate resilient.

As a BPI-certified green builder and someone who has worked on state-level policy, I understand what it will take to get there. I will work to bring the CEJA-initiated Workforce Development Hub to Aurora and train Aurora residents for this coming economic boom.

I will also closely monitor the federal grant for a green hydrogen hub and our ability to attract these dollars to our city to develop the infrastructure and businesses affiliated with green hydrogen. Australia and other European countries are making these investments and Toyota, Honda, Hyzon, and others are all developing cutting edge technology that we could bring to Aurora.