With six candidates squaring off for three open seats on University Park’s Board of Trustees, local voters might expect a slugfest instead of a love fest.
But so far, no one has come out swinging, or slinging mud.
At least one challenger acknowledges that her incumbent foes have done a good job in office. And the three incumbents in March’s non-partisan election-one of the few municipal elections in the Chicago area-insist they welcome the competition, saying it will make the election interesting.
“People all get along in University Park,” said Trustee Edward Palmer, who will seek his fourth two-year term on March 15. “It’s a peace and love atmosphere here, and people want to keep it that way.”
Though a little growth might not hurt. Most of the candidates agree that future development will make or break University Park-home to one of the Chicago area’s largest industrial parks, but a bit stagnant in its residential growth.
Palmer, 47, an administrator with the state’s Board of Education, hopes he can help lure an anchor store into the village’s new shopping center on University Parkway across from Village Hall. He also said he would fight to get Chicago’s third major airport in the south suburbs “if the people out here want it.”
Palmer, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1991, also wants to build a community youth center while expanding services for seniors. Palmer created the village’s senior citizens commission during his last term.
Ralph M. Powell, a five-year veteran of the board, said that local crime dropped more than 25 percent in the last year, thanks in part to his efforts to beef up the police force.
Like Palmer, Powell also wants to see the village realize its growth potential. “If we can have continued residential (expansion), that’s the key,” said Powell, 48, an insurance agent. “The more people you have, the more sharing of the tax burden.”
As for the crowded election field, Powell didn’t seem to mind. “It really speaks well for the village,” he said. “There’s more creative ideas.”
At least one incumbent on the ballot thinks there’s room for improvement in local government.
“There are legal fees that are completely unnecessary,” said Jerold Hodgkin, 49. “A lot of money is wasted, and we have the opportunity to save money.”
As a member of the village Finance Committee, Hodgkin said he has the expertise to go after waste. “I look at things with a fine-tooth comb,” said Hodgkin, owner of several area businesses, including an insurance agency. “We need tighter fiscal controls. It’s about money spent wisely.”
For cash problems such as those that have plagued the village’s petting zoo at Riegel Farm, Hodgkin endorses solutions such as the “adopt-a-pet” program, which he said saves taxpayer dollars. “If I’m elected, we’re not going to lose that farm,” Hodgkin said.
Among the challengers, newcomer Stefan R. Saller has been the closest thing to an outspoken critic of the trustees.
“I think the village needs to encompass total quality management,” said Saller, 45. “I don’t think that’s being done.”
An assistant manager for the Consumers Illinois Water Company, Saller said he decided to run because “I’m guilty, as many of us are, of complaining, but not taking the time to get involved. At this point in my life, I have the time.”
Saller said he is taking issue with a proposal to raise local taxes 25 percent.
“Since we have one of the highest tax rates in the state, it’s an issue,” Saller said.
Newcomer Sandra McCalip is avoiding any such contentious stands. “I have no bones to pick,” said McCalip, 52. “I’m not one of those candidates who’s going to say everything’s wrong.”
An employee of the Illinois Central Railroad’s accounting department, McCalip said she wants to lend her fiscal experience to operating village business.
As for newcomer Thomas V. Johnson, he hopes to make a clean sweep, starting with the streets.
“The streets aren’t as clean as they used to be,” said Johnson, 59, an engineer for WLS-TV. “The neighborhoods are noisy. It’s sort of rowdy, and we’ve never had this problem.”
Johnson said if elected, he would address those problems by pushing for a new community center for children. As for assessing the incumbents, Johnson kept in line with the campaign’s civil tone.
“They’ve done probably as good a job as they can do,” he said. “I just don’t feel they have anywhere else to go.”
