Be careful stewards of public's trust
One newly elected mayor fired the help. One new trustee almost swore in frustration.
Other newly elected leaders took the helm far more quietly this week with pledges to fix, change, or, in rare cases, keep the status quo in their towns, schools, townships, and fire departments.
As new mayors, village presidents and municipal, school, township and fire board members take their seats, there is the promise of plenty of change or at least the opportunity for change.
We hope our new leaders will proceed with care as they begin their tenure during these difficult economic days. Listen to taxpayers. Be careful and judicious with our hard-earned dollars. Stretch those services and dollars. Follow through with campaign promises.
But don't make change just to change. And certainly don't resort to retribution or political power plays from these positions of power. Voters have entrusted guidance of their communities in hope you'll make things better, not worse.
Voters undoubtedly did not expect the poor behavior exhibited at Buffalo Grove's first meeting with the new guard this week. Histrionics and plain old rude behavior is not the sort of change we or taxpayers want to see ... no matter how frustrated the elected official. With a grim economy costing jobs and services throughout the region, the stakes are simply too high to indulge in the sort of behavior which made towns like Carpentersville a laughingstock in recent years.
Speaking of Carpentersville where vitriol has seemed to flow like water for years, new Village President Ed Ritter oversaw a calm first village board meeting Wednesday. He will set the tone and can calm those waters unlike his predecessor.
New Elburn Village President David Anderson chose to shock at his first meeting, replacing the village's police chief and swapping the roles of the village administrator and community development director in his first few minutes on the job.
"You are going to see some changes. Some of them subtle, some of them not so subtle," Anderson told the audience. That seems to be putting it mildly. Big moves like this require just cause, must be meant to improve the village and shouldn't stem from some personal agenda.
Palatine's new leader, Mayor Jim Schwantz, who ousted longtime incumbent Rita Mullins, promises to also quickly get to work attracting business, filling commercial office space, analyzing village building needs, etc. He also promised to end the "theater of politics" at city council meetings.
Frank Soto is Bensenville's new village president, elected by a village apparently weary of a combative John Geils' take-no-prisoners approach in fighting O'Hare expansion. The test will be how well Soto helps his town deal with that expansion.
Some towns may need some time to adjust as they move forward. Des Plaines has seen wholesale change with a new mayor, new village clerk and four new aldermen taking seats after voter-approved term limits kicked in. Adjusting and adapting will be vital mantra for all the newly elected.
We wish them well. We, frankly, all need for them to do well.