Endorsements: Sprawka, Spacone and Gannon for Lake Zurich village board

The race for three trustee seats on the Lake Zurich village board pits candidates from two slates with clear differences on where they believe the village is today, where it should go in the future and how to get there. To a degree, both sides are right.

Members of the Lake Zurich Progress slate - incumbents John Shaw, Marc Spacone and Jonathan Sprawka - justifiably point to their work to help pull the village out of a financial malaise and set the table for the an improved village administration. popular new events and the creation of a long-term capital spending plan.

On the other side, members of the LZ Values slate - former trustee Jeffrey Halen, Janice Gannon and Michael Paulus - have fair criticisms of the current board, from the seeming lack of a cohesive plan for new development to the stalled progress in attracting businesses to the village's struggling downtown.

We have no doubts about any of the candidates' qualifications or their sincere motivations to serve the community - the latter being one of the few matters on which all six agree.

For us, Sprawka stands out among the candidates. He joined the board in the midst of the village's Great Recession struggles and helped guide the community to far more solid financial footing. He is a strong advocate for long-range planning through the creation of a new comprehensive plan and is wisely eager to take advantage of the village's financial strength to address infrastructure needs.

Spacone also gets our nod. We like his stance on seeking "win-win" solutions and making decisions on what benefits the village as whole.

Halen's experience is appealing, and he's clearly in touch with the issues facing the community. But voters denied him re-election in 2017, despite our endorsement, so perhaps it's time to consider other alternatives if they're reasonable. Fellow LZ Values slate members Gannon and Paulus both are worthy candidates who could bring valuable new insights and ideas to the board.

For us, Gannon's involvement as a citizen on issues such as the Route 22 bypass and the recently approved Life Time Fitness health club gives her a slight edge.

We endorse Sprawka, Spacone and Gannon.