Economic development a key issue in Downers Grove mayoral race

Downers Grove mayoral hopefuls say the village must encourage economic development to generate additional sales tax revenue and keep property taxes in check.

The question is how aggressive that effort should be over the next four years.

Village commissioners Bob Barnett and Marge Earl and former state representative David Olsen are running in the April 2 election to replace Mayor Martin Tully, who is stepping down because Downers Grove has term limits.

During a recent endorsement interview with the Daily Herald, Olsen said economic development long has been a priority in Downers Grove. But he said other towns also are working hard to attract development.

"We may need to be a little bit more aggressive because other communities are being very aggressive at this point," said Olsen, a 30-year-old ethics and compliance officer.

"This is a period where there's a very competitive market," Olsen said. With online shopping on the rise, "there's a lot more competition for getting retail spaces in our community.

"We're going to have to respond to the regional marketplace and what's going on in other communities," he said.

For example, Olsen said it's important that elected officials, including the mayor, help efforts to reach out and attract businesses.

He also said the village could use tax increment financing districts, special service areas or tools to spark economic development.

Barnett said Downers Grove has taken steps to spur development. Still, he said it's a challenge to develop some parcels because of property ownership and other issues.

He said examples can be found at 75th Street and Lemont Road, 63rd Street and Woodward Avenue and along Butterfield Road.

"Those have been sort of traditionally underperforming retail sites," said Barnett, who has been on the village council since 2009. "But they're in unique ownership situations."

So to develop those sites, he said, the village would have to redefine what it means to be aggressive.

"Aggressive would have to look a lot more like actual expenditure of tax dollars up front as opposed to rebates," said Barnett, 49. "It would have to look like eminent domain."

Earl, who has been a village commissioner since 2016, says good projects have been approved by the village. But for various reasons, some of them progressed slowly or never materialized at all, she said.

"It's a very difficult thing for the public to watch," said Earl, 54. "I think we can be more aggressive on trying to get those."

She said the village should "push as best as we can" to ensure a project gets done.

However, she said, "The village doesn't own the property, so we can only encourage."

If an area is blighted, the village could consider buying land to help redevelop it.

"That's not an easy route for anybody to want to do," Earl said.

"Taking private property out of private hands and putting it into the public is not always the best way to go. But when your back's against the wall and something needs to be done, maybe that's the mechanism that needs to be considered."