Buffalo Grove race a referendum on incumbent trustees

This year's race for three Buffalo Grove trustee seats has shaped up into a referendum on village government.

The three incumbents - Joanne Johnson, Lester Ottenheimer III and Andrew Stein - are running on the village board's recent record.

The two challengers, newcomer Gowri Magati and former Trustee Michael Terson, say there are areas where the village can improve.

Johnson pointed to achievements such as the passage of a $145 million infrastructure modernization plan, which she said had "no impact to the taxpayers on their property tax bill."

She also lauded the village's healthy sales tax revenues, which she said have increased by 20% over the past five years, while neighboring municipalities are either stagnant or declining.

Ottenheimer noted that the village has held the line on property taxes over the past year, notwithstanding the pandemic.

The village has brought in an additional $4.5 million to $5 million in sales tax revenues from Woodman's Market and the Shoppes of Buffalo Grove, he said, while balancing its budget and maintaining adequate reserves.

"Basically I want to finish what I've started and make sure that the village will thrive for generations," he said.

Stein, who lives in an area near Milwaukee Avenue that was annexed into Buffalo Grove in 2004, mentioned the successes along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor, including Woodman's and the Shoppes of Buffalo Grove.

"When it comes to business, I'll use a baseball euphemism," he said. "You can swing for the fences and try to hit a home run and strike out a bunch, or you can play small ball and bring in businesses that will attract other businesses and be successful that way. And I think that the village has done a decent job of late in playing the small ball and bringing in more business."

During his tenure, the village has streamlined the process of getting businesses approved and reformed the sign code, Stein added.

Magati has repeatedly stressed the need for "fresh new ideas" from the village. Her campaign literature names three: smart business development, smarter road development and cutting red tape in village government.

She said her background as an information technology professional, who has worked in project management with companies such as Walgreens and Johnson Controls, would benefit the village.

Terson, who unsuccessfully challenged Village President Beverly Sussman in the 2019 election, said he intends to run for president again in two years.

He said his experience as a trustee, as well as his recent years away from the board, give him an opportunity to engage with the community.

"I think the village has done a lot of great things in regards to communication and even economic development, but I also think that there's a lot more that we can do, and I think that we need to kind of change the way we're doing some things," he said.