Dixon seeks to be Elgin's first Black mayor as he challenges Kaptain

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain will have to defeat a city council member to win a fourth term in the April election.

Council member Corey Dixon filed his paperwork Monday afternoon with the clerk's office to challenge Kaptain, who has been in office since 2011.

If elected, Dixon would be Elgin's first Black mayor.

"I'm excited about the opportunity ahead of me," said Dixon, who has served on the city council since 2017. "I'm excited for the residents of the city in having what I think is a more viable option for mayor. I'm excited about what the future holds for all of us."

Dixon, who works for the Kane County sheriff's office as senior assistant director of administration, formerly served on the Elgin Image Advisory Commission and the city's planning and zoning commission. His current term on the city council runs until 2025.

"Thinking about where we are as a city, we're on the cusp of having some great things done," Dixon said. "But we're not going after certain opportunities. In our development, specifically downtown, we're really missing the boat. So I plan on making that a huge priority in this election."

Dixon said he'd also address homelessness in the city, continue to push for social justice reform, and fill positions the council created in last year's budget plan for a Spanish language translator and a director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

He says the significance of potentially being the first Black mayor of Illinois' sixth-largest city isn't lost on him.

"It would be history-making," he said. "But what's at the forefront of my mind is being a representative of all the folks of Elgin."

Kaptain, who unseated 12-year incumbent Ed Schock to become mayor, had previously served on the city's planning commission for six years before spending the next six on the city council.

"I think there are things that I'm qualified to do that I have not finished yet," Kaptain said.

Kaptain said his priorities in his next term include adding a satellite office of the Kane County clerk's office in Elgin, which he's been working on for years. He also would continue to focus on housing development on both sides of town. He said one project that would add 100 market-rate apartments on the city's east side is close to fruition.

"We've been working on that for a long time, and it's going to change things," he said.

Kaptain also said he's uniquely qualified to deal with the Army Corps of Engineers and the future of the Kimball Street dam. Kaptain is a retired chief chemist and director of process control for the Fox River Water Reclamation District.

"I want to have a community conversation on a vision for what's going to happen if we take the dam out or if the dam stays," he said.