Endorsements: Dailly, Dunham, Madej for Schaumburg village board
As village president of Schaumburg, Al Larson can sometimes seem larger than life, which may, unintentionally, leave his village board appearing to be little more than tunnels for Larson's train of thought.
Given the hard work the trustees put into their jobs, there's an unfairness about that perception. And in the cases of Trustees Tom Dailly, George Dunham and Mark Madej, all of whom are running for re-election, this is especially true.
Dailly and Dunham have been trustees for 21 and 24 years, respectively, and Madej for 10 years.
Jim Moynihan, the fourth candidate in the race, argues that is too long, and he offers himself as new blood. Moynihan ran as a Republican for 54th District state representative last fall, and made a decent showing in his eventual loss to Democrat Michelle Mussman.
New blood is not a bad reason for considering change on a board, but it shouldn't be the only reason. There's no point in upsetting the cart here. Some residents will continue to be unhappy over the property tax Schaumburg enacted in 2009, but the village board has lowered the levy each year since, and Moynihan would like to accelerate its demise to within 15 years. But with the new governor suggesting a 50 percent cut in municipal income tax receipts, a more prudent course, at least in the short term, is called for.
Dailly, Dunham and Madej bring to the table institutional knowledge and a willingness to work hard to master the material and make reasoned decisions.
Schaumburg is an exciting community, one that isn't afraid of big ideas but also demonstrates fiscal restraint on behalf of its citizens. Dailly, Dunham and Madej have been good stewards, and if they want to go on, Schaumburg will be well served.