Wheeling village board candidate says incumbents don’t listen to public

Mary Papantos said Wheeling trustees don’t listen to residents and have made serious errors in the past few years, like buying the former Wickes site for $3.8 million.

“The village shouldn’t be in the real estate business,” Papantos said. “The plans are already in motion so I’m not sure what can be done, but the village should control development through zoning. They shouldn’t be buying land or developments.”

Papantos is running to be on the board against three incumbents — Ray Lang, Robert Heer and David Vogel. Papantos — who has gained the backing of former Village President Sheila Schultz — has become a vocal critic of village government as of late.

On Monday, she accused the village board of waiting until the cameras were off after a closed session to talk about the Prairie Park development. Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said he was only updating the board on what was happening and that no discussion took place.

“I’ve been on the board for 16 years and we do listen to residents,” Heer said. “In that time, we’ve built the Westin, Superdawg and torn down Kmart.”

Meanwhile, Lang, Vogel and Heer also stand by their decision to buy the Wickes building in 2008 after the company declared bankruptcy. The building will be demolished in April,

“Wickes was valued between $8 (million) and $12 million when we took control of that site,” Lang said. “And we had to. It’s right next to village hall and the park district. Do you know what someone wanted to put in there? A flea market. We waited for someone with deep pockets to come along and really develop that site.”

Vogel said that while Wheeling continues to weather a tough economy, the village can work on more local issues.

Those include reducing traffic congestion on Dundee Road and working with Metra to relocate drop-off and pickup points to eliminate traffic downtime while the train is stopped.

Former Wheeling Village President William Hein will also be back on the village board. He was certified as a write-in candidate for a two-year term and will be the only person on the April 5 ballot for that seat.

Hein was village president for one term, 1977-1981, when he was beaten by then Trustee Sheila Schultz by fewer than 100 votes. He ran against her again in 1985 and lost by a much greater margin. He lost a bid for the presidency to Greg Klatecki in 2001 and a bid for the park board in 2003.