West Chicago mayoral race pits experience against change

West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda says he’s seeking another term to keep the city moving in the right direction.

But both challengers looking to unseat Pineda in next week’s election — Daniel Bovey and Joseph Sheehan — say there needs to be a change.

Pineda is running for reelection after serving 13 years as mayor. He was an alderman for 14 years before that.

“I grew up here,” Pineda said during a recent Daily Herald candidate interview. “I love this community. I have a passion for this community to make sure we’re going in the right direction.”

Bovey and Sheehan argue that West Chicago needs new leadership.

Bovey, a 50-year-old business owner and pastor, said the city needs “a new set of eyes” looking at how to redevelop its historic downtown.

“I’m running because I listen to the people of West Chicago,” Bovey wrote in a candidate questionnaire. “I care about their needs and believe I can bring much-needed changes.”

He said his approach to downtown development targets small businesses rather than large projects such as a new city hall, municipal plaza and mixed-use developments the current administration seeks under its comprehensive and strategic plans.

Bovey proposes smaller-scale efforts capitalizing on the city’s diversity, such as micro-business markets.

His other key issues include transparency, remediating a city-owned brownfield on Washington Street, and the lengthy lead pipe replacement project the city will be undertaking.

Sheehan, 40, an entrepreneur and former medical doctor, hopes to address economic stagnation by centering on the railroad tracks in the downtown. He would seek grant funding for an underpass that would allow traffic to flow freely.

“The most pressing concern I hear from residents is the mismanagement of water billing, which I am committed to resolving once and for all,” Sheehan stated in his candidate questionnaire.

Sheehan decried the city’s purchase of numerous downtown properties “without clear development plans” and said he would “concentrate on tangible improvements.”

Pineda, 65, a sales engineer, said during his candidate interview that the city has no debt in its $57.5 million budget.

“We write in black ink,” he said.

Pineda said his two goals when he took office were developing the downtown as well as the vast DuPage Business Center near the DuPage Airport. Aided by intergovernmental agreements and incentives, he said the business center “for the first time has been full.”

Earlier this year, West Chicago established a new Business & Community Relations Department, launched a Downtown Investment Program and rebooted a restaurant and retail grant program to address small businesses.

The lead pipe removal project, for which Pineda said the city is seeking forgivable loans from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, is a top priority.

He also noted the cleanup of the former scrapyard on Washington Street to provide for future development and “improving our industrial streets,” he said in his candidate questionnaire.

Pineda touted an upcoming expansion of Fabyan Parkway with a corresponding stoplight at Technology Boulevard at the business center.

Other goals include improving the segment of Roosevelt Road that runs through the city to attract new business.