John Scaletta, Arlington Heights' most senior trustee, won't seek reelection

John Scaletta, Arlington Heights' most senior village trustee, announced Thursday he won't be seeking reelection in the spring.

First elected to the village board in 2007, Scaletta said he wants to focus on and spend more time with family coming off the pandemic.

His departure foreshadows turnover on the elected panel as trustees navigate the proposed Chicago Bears redevelopment project and other issues. Four trustee seats will be up for election next April, and fellow incumbent Trustee Mary Beth Canty's name won't be on the ballot either, should she win her Democratic bid for state representative next month.

Only Mayor Tom Hayes - first elected as a trustee in 1991 before becoming mayor in 2013 - has a longer tenure on the board.

Scaletta, a resident since 2000 and vice president of F&F Management, a movie theater and shopping center operations consultancy, was known for his detailed questioning at board meetings and involvement in the business community. He was appointed by then-Mayor Arlene Mulder in 2009 to the village's building code review board, by Mayor Tom Hayes in 2014 to the Metropolis oversight committee amid the theater's fiscal problems, and in 2019 to the Meet Chicago Northwest tourism bureau board.

In his written announcement Thursday, Scaletta cited his work on a number of issues during four terms in office.

He advocated for the change to the village's fiscal year so that the board would approve an operating budget before levying any real estate taxes. And, he said, many decisions the board made over the last decade made three consecutive years of no levy increases possible.

The board has funded police and fire pensions above the actuary minimum guidelines, he added, while encouraging new business and real estate developments that expand the commercial real estate and sales tax base to help offset residential property taxes.

Scaletta also pointed to stormwater and infrastructure upgrades, green initiatives, and a tree preservation and replacement program to deal with the emerald ash tree borer epidemic.

"I have witnessed many changes in 16 years and hopefully a common sense and good judgment approach at the appropriate times," he said.