Endorsement: Poynton for Lake Zurich village president

A 2019 survey of Lake Zurich residents found that 94% rated the village an excellent or good place to live; 90% would recommend living there to others; and 79% described municipal services and customer service as either excellent or good.

It wouldn't be accurate if we gave two-term Village President Tom Poynton all the credit for those results - though he probably wouldn't mind if we did. However, those poll numbers reflect something hard to deny: Lake Zurich is in a good place these days.

That wasn't the case when Poynton was elected to the village board. Back then, the village was staring down a $28 million debt from an unsuccessful TIF district and a host of other financial woes.

Coincidentally, a fellow village board member who joined Poynton in leading the village out of that quagmire is now hoping to take his job. Former trustee Jeff Halen says it's time for a new leadership in Lake Zurich.

Halen's critiques of Poynton's tenure aren't entirely meritless. While there has been some progress renewing parts of the long-struggling downtown, it's been slow. The lakefront Block A - purchased by the village in hopes it would be the centerpiece to redevelopment efforts - still sits vacant.

And a proposed sales-tax hike last year proved to be ill-conceived, as voters rejected it by a 2-to-1 margin in a November referendum.

But despite these setbacks, it's undeniable that Lake Zurich is better today than when Poynton began his first term as mayor. The village's financial outlook is stable, new businesses have opened and flourished along routes 12 and 22 - and yes, even downtown - and new amenities like the Sunset Pavilion and Kuechmann Arboretum have been a hit.

Village residents seem to like what they're seeing, and we see no reason to significantly alter course. We endorse Poynton.