Endorsements: Silkaitis, Bongard, Lencioni, Weber for St. Charles City Council

Four of St. Charles’s five wards have contested elections on April 1, evidence that community service is still a high priority among residents in this community. The non-contested race is in Ward 4, where Alderman Bryan Wirball is the only candidate on the ballot.

Here are our recommendations for the four remaining wards:

Ward 1 – Silkaitis

Alderman Ronald Silkaitis hasn’t done anything to merit dismissal, and indeed, his service is long and honored: an alderman from 1997 to 2009, and from 2013 to the present day. Over the years, he has pushed to prioritize essential city services (electricity, water, police and fire protection), arguing the reliability of these services is necessary to maintain residents’ quality of life. In order to continue paying down debt, he wants the council to deeply look into what is really needed in St. Charles and make difficult choices about which projects can be postponed. His institutional knowledge of the city and of council matters is legendary. Silkaitis is challenged by an excellent young candidate, Robert Kasper, a physician with Northwestern Medicine. Among several ideas, he suggests that the economic development department be expanded to also serve as a small business incubator. We like his ideas and his enthusiasm, but they don’t win out over Silkaitis’ long years of direct experience and continuing leadership.

Ward 2: Bongard

When Ryan Bongard beat incumbent Alderman Art Lemke in 2021 with 64% of the Ward 2 vote, both candidates acknowledged it was largely due to Bongard’s strong rhetoric about getting the Charlestowne Mall redeveloped. Lemke, who underwhelmed voters by admitting they shouldn’t expect a quick solution, probably won the moral victory: In 2025 the mall remains stubbornly un-redeveloped with no clear solution on the table. Still, we endorsed Bongard in 2021 because we thought he was a good “forward thinker,” and we still think that. His position on the city’s finances – which remain OK, but without a lot of wiggle room in the budget – is that St. Charles’s debt obligation must continue to be paid down and that officials who propose projects must also explain how they will be paid for. His opponent is Angela Churchill, a member of the St. Charles Natural Resources Commission and vice president of her homeowner’s association. Churchill is critical of Bongard’s vote to annex The Springs from DuPage County to build 320 apartments, arguing it will make redeveloping the mall even harder and distract the council’s attention. We like her very much, but we’d like to see what Bongard can do with four more years.

Ward 3 - Lencioni

Alderman Paul Lencioni is running for re-election in Ward 3, challenged by Vicki Spellman and Carolyn Waibel. All three candidates are well-spoken, each with notable strengths and a passion for local service: Spellman is an executive vice president of a large advertising agency, and a communications specialist who is bursting with ideas to improve St. Charles; and Waibel was an outspoken member of the St. Charles Unit District 303 board, though her bluntness caused some residents to demand her ouster (she resigned mid-term in 2021, after what she called unrelenting harassment from some community members). Lencioni was the third-generation CEO of the now-shuttered Blue Goose supermarket. He has sold the legacy location to the eagerly-awaited Whole Foods, keeping St. Charles’ tradition of a downtown grocer intact. In a close call, we give the edge to Lencioni, who was on the plan commission before joining the council in 2021, has an extensive knowledge of the downtown business community and makes good contributions to meetings. He has done nothing in his first term not to deserve re-election.

Ward 5 - Weber

Steve Weber won his Ward 5 seat in 2021, coming out first in a three-way race, and he had to step down from his elected Kane County Board seat mid-term in order to take it. Now, running for a second term, he agrees that the city should continue to pay down its debt obligation and be mindful of new borrowing. He does not want to rush into a new deal with St. Charles’ electricity supplier until the city has looked at other potential suppliers, and – like everyone else running this year - he supports keeping the Fox Valley dam in place until it’s no longer viable, unless an anticipated report on the dam proves a need to take another look. (He also dreams of walkways under Main Street.) His opponent is Lauren Duddles, a former St. Charles youth commissioner who has made advanced studies in education and who worked for Congresswoman Lauren Underwood in 2022. She has extensive knowledge of the city’s finances and did her master’s thesis on the challenges faced by children with adverse experiences. Weber’s experience, however, gives him a considerable edge. He is endorsed.