Lombard village president candidates disagree about downtown

Both candidates running for Lombard village president say the Lilac Village has a reputation for being friendly to major developers and businesses.

But Trustee Reid Foltyniewicz, who is challenging incumbent Village President Keith Giagnorio, said he believes Lombard's downtown has been overlooked.

"The heart and soul of who we are is the downtown," Foltyniewicz said during a recent endorsement interview. "Downtown is something where you have to put a little more work into it, and that has to come from the village government, the local elected officials."

Foltyniewicz, an administrative sergeant with the Oak Brook police, said the village must do more to maintain the infrastructure in downtown and attract new businesses.

He also touted his efforts to help bring Prairie Food Co-op to Lombard. It recently signed a 10-year lease on a downtown site and hopes to open next year as DuPage County's first cooperative supermarket.

Giagnorio, who is seeking a third term as village president, acknowledged that there was room for improvement. He said Lombard could make better efforts to attract downtown restaurants and to make visitors more aware of public parking behind buildings.

As a Lombard restaurant owner himself, Giagnorio said he is well-positioned to help other village businesses in their recovery from COVID-19 losses. He also pointed to what Lombard did to help businesses during the pandemic.

"We relaxed business renewal licenses, we relaxed liquor renewal licenses - anything that we could possibly do to save our existing businesses," Giagnorio said. "We have a businessman in charge who understands the plight of big and small business."

Due to term limits, Giagnorio can only be village president for four more years. He's seeking another term to help oversee projects like the Helen Plum Library's move to a new location along Main Street and the redevelopment of the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary near Yorktown Shopping Center.

"We have a lot of projects that are just coming to fruition now," Giagnorio said. "I'd like to continue that momentum."

Foltyniewicz said he's running because he wants "to do even more for Lombard."

"I can do a lot more," he said, "and the village can do a lot more if I become village president."