advertisement

Top races on ballot in Northwest suburbs

Voters in the Northwest suburbs will have a lot to choose from when they go to the polls Tuesday, as they select leaders who will be making decisions on everything from economic development to technology in the classroom to how the public's money is spent.

Most races across the area are for village and school boards. Buffalo Grove has the lone contested mayoral race.

Here's a look at some of the most closely watched electoral contests:

Arlington Heights

Six candidates, including two newcomers, are fighting for four seats on the Arlington Heights village board.

Local engineer and volunteer Tom Schwingbeck and Afghanistan War veteran D. Court Harris are trying to unseat one of the incumbents: Carol Blackwood, John Scaletta, Mike Sidor and Robin Labedz, who was appointed by Mayor Tom Hayes in 2013.

Schwingbeck and Harris, son of state Rep. David Harris, have said they want to bring new ideas to the board.

Arlington Heights is facing several major issues that the next village board will have to make decisions about, including the future of the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, how to fund major infrastructure improvements, and the building of a new police station.

District 15

In Palatine Township Elementary District 15, two incumbents face a crowded field of challengers for three spots on the school board.

Challengers Jessica Morrison, David Gurion and Zubair Khan make up one slate. On the other side are Frank Annerino and board members Manjula Sriram and Gerard Iannuzzelli, the latter two mounting a bid for second 4-year terms. Joshua Perry is campaigning on his own.

The seven candidates have sharply different views on the board's role in overseeing the district's finances and administrators.

Sriram and Iannuzzelli are frequent critics of the district's deficit spending and claim other board members rubber-stamp administrators' proposals without digging deeper.

Morrison, Gurion and Khan say the district's finances are headed in the right direction, noting projections for a modest surplus in 2016-17. They argue that the board should give deference to Superintendent Scott Thomson to manage the day-to-day business of the district, labeling their rivals as micromanagers.

Perry says the board may have to go “line by line” to determine whether the district is spending where it should, but he opposes cutting teachers to reduce costs.

Buffalo Grove

One of the most high-profile suburban races is in Buffalo Grove, where Village President Jeffrey Braiman is being challenged by Trustee Beverly Sussman.

A key issue separating the candidates is a now-dead downtown development proposal that was pulled last December when village leaders balked at the developer's request for financial assistance.

The proposal called for a $320 million mixed-use development of condominiums, entertainment venues, retail and office buildings, and open space on 65 acres along Lake-Cook Road, on the site of village hall and the Buffalo Grove Golf Club.

Sussman, a village trustee since 2009, opposed the plan because it would have been built on a floodplain and would have placed a large supermarket on a quiet street near homes and a church.

Braiman, who is seeking his second term as village president, said the proposal was worth considering, as it would have generated between $5 million and $8 million in property and sales taxes annually.

Barrington

A slate of challengers has made its opposition to the current board's involvement in downtown businesses development one of the main tenets of their campaign.

Maureen E. Yates, JoAnn Fletcher and Mike Kozel say the board botched the Village Center and White House projects, saying the former is poaching village businesses from commercial building owners and the latter is getting the village into the banquet hall business.

Incumbents Jim Daluga and Robert Windon, with political newcomer Jason Lohmeyer, also are running as a slate. The three candidates support the village's efforts to jump-start local businesses, and both Daluga and Windon voted for the White House project.

Mount Prospect

In Mount Prospect, seven candidates are running for three village board seats, including incumbents Paul Hoefert and John Korn, who have more than 30 years of experience as trustees between them. Another incumbent, Richard Rogers, was appointed when former Trustee Arlene Juracek was elected mayor.

The rest of the field consists of John Dyslin, Kevin Grouwinkel, Colleen Saccotelli and Kevin Nohelty.

This campaign's major issues have included the village's $6.5 million settlement with Ye Olde Town Inn, the development of downtown, and the village's finances.

Dyslin was especially critical of the settlement, saying the village painted a misleadingly optimistic picture of its chances in a federal lawsuit brought by the restaurant's owner.

The incumbents, who said they can't discuss the deal publicly under the terms of the settlement, said that the agreement was the most prudent deal for taxpayers. Korn has said the village, whether right or wrong, had to cut potential losses.

Des Plaines

A veteran Des Plaines alderman who was arrested on a criminal trespassing charge in February after walking uninvited into a resident's house is being challenged by a political newcomer who has the backing of the city's rookie mayor.

Fourth Ward Alderman Dick Sayad, a 12-year incumbent, says he prides himself on constituent services and always being accessible to residents. And so it was as he was trying to resolve a unplowed sidewalk issue that he says he mistakenly walked into the resident's second-floor music studio, thinking the house was divided into apartments.

Sayad is due in court Friday — three days after the election.

Mayor Matt Bogusz, a political opponent of Sayad, is supporting Mark Setzer, an East Dundee firefighter who says he would bring “respect and professionalism back to the 4th Ward.”

Barrington Hills

Two political slates — One Barrington Hills, made up of Bryan Croll, Brian Cecola and Michelle Maison, and Save Open Space, which consists of Mary Naumann and incumbents Patty Meroni and Karen Selman — are at odds over a multitude of issues in Barrington Hills. Meroni and Selman have opposed Village President Marty McLaughlin on a variety of issues, such as new horse boarding rules.

District 211

The Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 race has been characterized by disagreements over the district's finances, which some challengers have called overly cautious at the expense of taxpayers. Vying for the four open seats on the board are Mucia Burke, Peter Dombrowski, Richard Gerber, Roman Golash, Will Hinshaw, Robert Lithgow, Lauanna Recker and Edward Yung.

Schaumburg

Even Schaumburg's barely contested trustee race has had a tone of bitterness as the incumbent slate of Tom Dailly, George Dunham and Mark Madej had been generally supportive of its lone challenger, Jim Moynihan, during his failed bid for 56th District state representative last fall.

• Daily Herald staff writers Doug T. Graham, Eric Peterson, Katlyn Smith, Melissa Silverberg and Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.

Upper from left, Frank Annerino, David Gurion, Gerard Iannuzzelli and Zubair Khan and, lower from left, Jessica Morrison, Joshua Perry and Manjula Sriram are candidates for the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board.
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.