Elgin council hopefuls court voters at candidate forum
Hopefuls vying for four open at-large seats on the Elgin City Council courted voters Tuesday night during a candidate forum at Journey of Hope Church in Elgin.
Incumbents Corey Dixon, Dustin Good and Steve Thoren and challengers Diana Alfaro, Maggie Beyer, Cecilia Ivana Brooks, Erik Bosque Pena and Mark Smith will be on the ballot for the April 1 election.
Pena couldn't attend Tuesday’s forum, and write-in candidate Marcelleus Day was allowed to participate.
Current council member Carol Rauschenberger chose not to seek reelection. As a result, the board will have at least one new member.
Candidates shared their thoughts on various topics, including the city’s budget, its overall image, the move of Tent City residents to the Lexington Inn, immigration enforcement, arts spending, and downtown redevelopment.
Alfaro highlighted her experience with economic development. She said a 2021 retail market analysis showed that $240 million in Elgin money is spent on dining, shopping and entertainment in other nearby communities.
“We would work and see how bring that money back,” she said. “Even a portion of that money would help us with our infrastructure projects and other things.”
Beyer, a retired administrator, said she was running to address the homelessness issue, as well as code enforcement and public safety.
“I would love to walk downtown Elgin like I used to years ago. But I don’t do it right now,” she said, speaking to feeling unsafe.
Brooks, who works in sales, serves as secretary of the Kane County Young Republicans and is a member of the Elgin Township Committee on Youth. She said she wants to bring a new perspective to the council.
Write-in candidate Day said he was running to do his part to help bring things to Elgin’s younger demographic.
Dixon said he is seeking a third term because “there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” citing downtown development and the importance of the North Grove Redevelopment project as one example.
“I see that property as an expansion of our downtown,” he said. “I’ve been talking about downtown and what we’re missing out on forever now. And we are missing out on so much tax revenue.”
Good called on voters to check his record, saying he has voted both for and against initiatives by all his colleagues on the council in his first term and “answer(s) to nobody but the residents.”
“I just want to reiterate the things that I put on the tape … you’ve got four years of evidence,” he said. “You can look at my voting record. You can see how I vote.”
Smith, a 22-year Army veteran and former Elgin police officer who works for the Department of Homeland Security, said he would focus on economic growth, community development, transparency and accountability.
He said if elected he would push for quarterly or semiannual town hall sessions to hear input from residents without the time limitations of a city council meeting.
Thoren, who wears his love of Elgin on his sleeve, said one of his major accomplishments in his first term was working behind the scenes to keep McGrath Nissan from leaving Elgin for Naperville.
“We were able to get Nissan to build (at the I-90 Auto Mall) and stay in our city,” he said. “We’ll get wonderful tax revenue from them.”
Roughly 100 people attended the forum, which was moderated and broadcast by WRMN 1410 radio. Video of the event is available on their channel at youtube.com/watch?v=5lkbBbjpL4I.