Elgin City Councilman Corey Dixon is looking to take a new seat on the dais — the one currently held by incumbent Mayor David Kaptain.
“This election is about people,” Dixon said Tuesday of his decision to run in the April 2023 election. “I’m running a campaign that’s focused on the people and the city, not politics. This is not politics to me. It’s community service.”
Voters are going to have “two clear and distinct choices come April,” he said. “The things I’m discussing will be beneficial to our community 20, 30, 40 years from now.”
If elected, he would be the first Black mayor in the city’s history. He’s served on the council since 2017.
An Elgin native and married father of three daughters, Dixon is the senior assistant director of administration for the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, where he manages diversion programs that help defendants and inmates dealing with such issues as mental health and substance abuse.
He has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Grambling State University in Louisiana and a master’s degree in public administration from DeVry University. He’s a board member for the Greater Elgin Family Care Center and Food for Greater Elgin and volunteers with various organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin.
Two of his main campaign issues, Dixon said, will be resource sustainability and affordable housing. He wants to see the city invest in modernizing its facilities with solar panels and electronic vehicle charging stations and he’d like to see more incentives for developers willing to build affordable housing, he said.
The city also should be providing grants to social service agencies that work with mental health issues and substance abuse disorders, Dixon said. His background in social work helps him understand how financial struggles can have a huge impact on the services that can be provided, he said.
“I have demonstrated the ability and the work ethic to look ahead, work ahead, execute plans and goals, and get down in the weeds, get dirty and do the work,” Dixon said.
In terms of economic development, he’d like to see Elgin become the entertainment hub of the Fox Valley, he said. The city needs to attract more restaurants, entertainment venues and businesses that will bring people to Elgin, rather than Elgin residents having to go elsewhere to dine out, shop or be entertained.
One idea would be to start a grant program for small startup businesses, Dixon said.
His tenure on the council shows he’s not afraid of pushing for change, he said.
“I’ve already brought forward programs and other initiatives,” he said, citing his work on social justice reform within the Elgin Police Department.
“I’m ready,” Dixon said. “I’m prepared. I believe that in a period of time like this, where we find ourselves in history and where we find ourselves in the midst of social reform, I am the kind of leader this community truly desires.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
