Endorsement: Rosenthal for Prospect Heights mayor

The city of Prospect Heights is in a much better position today than it was when Nick Helmer was first elected mayor eight years ago.

The city's once deeply troubled budget has rebounded, key decisions have been made boosting police leadership and services, sales-tax revenues are increasing and city government itself oper-ates more collaboratively and effectively than it had previously. Helmer, 76, deserves credit and thanks for the role he played in working with the city council to achieve such advances.

So, why then are we recommending his opponent Larry Rosenthal be elected Prospect Heights mayor come April 2?

That has not been an easy decision to come to. But ultimately, our thinking focuses not on what it has taken to get Prospect Heights to where it finds itself today but on how it will build on the foundation now in place. We're confident Helmer could continue to be an effective leader for another four years, but we're more confident that the city is ripe for the positive leadership style Rosenthal brings and that his background and determination are right for guiding the city and its city council through the challenges to come.

An alderman himself for the past four years, Rosenthal, 80, also has six years prior experience as a school board member in Skokie, three of them as the board's president. He knows how to work with an elected board and how to lead. And he has a solid vision for the future of Prospect Heights with detailed ideas for making it come true. In particular, he recognizes the sales job that still faces the city in gaining the trust of the community to one day support home rule status that could significantly benefit efforts to address flooding and drainage problems in town.

Nick Helmer has served two terms as mayor, helping to bring the city to a point where new lead-ership can take over and move the city still further forward. Now, Larry Rosenthal is the candi-date best suited to fill that role, and he gets our endorsement.