Endorsements: Johnson, Adams, Garrity for Libertyville trustee

In filling three trustee seats on the April 2 ballot, Libertyville voters will decide whether to stick with experience or inject a little fresh blood into the village board.

Incumbents Donna Johnson, Scott Adams and Peter Garrity will face first-time candidate Jeanine C. Chyna in a race that's as much about future challenges as it is about accomplishments of the recent past.

The village has emerged from the Great Recession with a tight and balanced budget, a vibrant downtown, a push to improve and develop other areas of the community and a successful referendum that provided funds to pay for needed maintenance and repairs to about 40 percent of village roads.

However, looming in the future are complex and costly issues that include finding money to fix the remaining 60 percent of roads, address stormwater needs to reduce flooding and make improvements to local parks amid uncertainty about funding from Springfield and future automobile sales tax receipts from Dealer Row.

The current board has worked together to successfully meet challenges in the past and we see no reason to disrupt that chemistry with such important issues on the horizon.

We support Johnson, Adams and Garrity - three thoughtful and experienced trustees who are engaged in the community, do their homework and listen to residents.

Johnson, a corporate attorney, has 12 years on the board to go with experience on the planning and zoning and police and fire committees. Adams, who has been a trustee since 2014, is president/CEO of the GLMV Chamber of Commerce and is an important link to the business community. He's also a former Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 board member. Garrity, elected in 2015, is a retired business executive who takes a team approach to addressing issues.

The newcomer, Chyna, works for Advocate Condell Medical Center and is a community volunteer. She promises to bring a fresh approach but doesn't offer compelling reasons to replace the incumbents.

We urge her to stay involved in Libertyville, but think experience is needed in this election.