How Chicago goes, so go the suburbs, local mayors say
Transportation. Tourism. Influence. Economic vitality.
The health of Chicago, on those topics and others, is of vital concern to suburban leaders.
So besides worrying about their own April elections or that of their village boards and city councils, suburban leaders are watching the upcoming Chicago mayoral elections with great interest.
“It absolutely does matter,” Lincolnshire Mayor Brett Blomberg said. “What's good for Chicago is good for the rest of us.”
Suburban leaders count on Chicago's mayor to wield influence in Springfield or closer to home with the Cook County Board. They credit the current officeholder, Mayor Richard M. Daley, with fostering a strong relationship between the city and suburbs.
They worry the next mayor won't have the same influence or the same level of interest in the suburbs.
“The replacement may not have the same ability,” Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said, pointing out how Daley, seemingly by himself, quashed talk in Springfield over withholding part of the state income tax from municipalities.
Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson said the mayor could help reduce increases in property taxes. Bradley Stephens of Rosemont and Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder want the next Chicago mayor to help address how municipalities fund police and fire pensions.
And all of them hope the new mayor can convince Springfield lawmakers to reform the state mandates that leave towns and school districts scrambling.
Suburban leaders were pleased when the current Mayor Daley got behind the formation of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus 23 years ago. Representatives from 273 communities in the six-county metropolitan area connect and share ideas on everything from how to better beautify a neighborhood to helping break down socio-economic barriers at schools.
Based on those discussions the mayors will often turn to lobbyists who will travel to Springfield on their behalf.
”The relationships formed in that caucus made me feel like I could stop by (Daley's) office and have a conversation or pick his brain,” Naperville Mayor George Pradel said.
Before Daley created the caucus, Pradel said, suburban leaders “didn't know who he was or how Chicago ran or if they cared about us.”
Mulder said linking the communities gives them a presence on the national level. Prior to the caucus, suburbs were often engaged in “border wars,” she said.
“It's improved communication, suburb to suburb,” she said.
Addison Village President Larry Hartwig chairs the caucus board. He wants the new Chicago mayor to have the same energy as Daley did, and cited the 2016 Olympic bid, which involved venues around the entire region, as a good example of Chicago's relationship with the suburbs.
“We don't want to lose that,” Hartwig said. “So we are hoping for someone with the same commitment to the region that Daley had.”
That commitment is rare and worth preserving, said former Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins, who worked with Daley in a variety of groups, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
“It's very unusual in the United States that big cities reach out to work with their neighbors,” she said. “He found the value in meeting with other mayors. We had the same problems that he had, only on a much smaller scale.”
Economics and transportation come up frequently when the mayors talk about a new administration.
Round Lake Mayor James Dietz said he wants the new mayor to focus on CTA funding, saying suburban commuters will struggle getting to jobs if Chicago's transportation funds are cut.
“The transportation thing, it's like a drop in the water the way it ripples on the way out,” Dietz said.
Carol Stream Village President Frank Saverino is eager for expansion of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway. Saverino said the next mayor's support for the expansion would be a boost for all cities in western DuPage County.
“If we can get O'Hare access from the west, it would create a lot of jobs and open up a lot of the industrial parks west of the airport,” he said.
Keeping O'Hare modernized is important to Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens, too, but nothing trumps his interest in convention business.
“That's the most important to me,” Stephens said. “With the Rosemont Convention Center and McCormick Place, it's important we work together in making it a convention-friendly area.”
Libertyville Mayor Terry Weppler said the next mayor should push the state legislature to solve the budget crisis, as he believes it has driven business away.
“A supportive business environment helps the city and the surrounding suburbs,” Weppler said.
Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk wants the new Chicago mayor to concentrate on economics closer to home, and protect the economic vitality of the city.
“If the business environment in Chicago becomes hostile and businesses start closing and moving out of state or even out of the country, that has an adverse impact on all of our suburbs,” Gresk said.
Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik agrees, citing her village's dependence on tourism for attractions such as Six Flags Great America. Kovarik said the new Chicago mayor will need to ensure city services are maintained, which is why it'll be important to be a good executive.
“I think Chicago's problems are very similar to what the suburbs experience, times a thousand,” Kovarik said.
None of the sitting suburban mayors would admit to having a favorite horse in the race, but Carpentersville Mayor Ed Ritter said he's hoping for an outsider.
He said it might level out the playing field when it comes to securing state funding.
“Sometimes what they get for Chicago takes away from what we get here,” Ritter said.
Mullins, who has been out of office since May 2009, is supporting Gery Chico, the former board president of the Chicago Public Schools Board, saying Chico exhibits the same passion for Chicago that she always liked about Daley.
First elected in 1989, the 68-year-old Daley surprised many in September when announced he wouldn't seek a seventh term in April.
Filing opened Monday for the Feb. 22 mayoral primary, and since Chicago is a Democratic city, the Democratic primary has been the one to watch. Rahm Emanuel, Carol Moseley Braun, the Rev. James Meeks, Danny Davis and Gery Chico are among the announced candidates; many more are rumored to be in the hunt.
#376; Daily Herald staff writers Larissa Chinwah, Tara Garcia Mathewson, Justin Kmitch, Russell Lissau, Elisabeth Mistretta, Robert Sanchez, Marco Santana, Susan Sarkauskas, Bob Susnjara and Mick Zawislak contributed to this report.