DeKALB — Community members selected by Mayor Jerry Smith to head the Anne Glidden North Plan Revitalization Task Force could be appointed during Monday’s City Council Meeting.The list of the 31 potential appointments include individuals from the city...
A: I have been known to as the unifier, and I think I can get the people around the table and get some kind of consensus to a particular problem. I couldn’t stay on the sidelines any longer after seeing some of the problems that we have in DeKalb, and so many people have asked me, and at this stage in my life, if I am going to run for mayor — now is the time.
Q: What is the most important change that needs to happen in this community?
A: I am going to ask the Board of Trustees at NIU to allow me to either sit as an ex-official member or on some committee because the city of DeKalb is so dependent on the success of Northern Illinois University. With the decrease in enrollment at NIU, we are all hurting, and whatever the city can do to access NIU to increase that enrollment is very important. I would also like to work with City Council to learn what some of the problems and some of the promises are in every one of our wards. We have seven wards in this community, and they all have unique problems; I don’t suppose to know all of them in every ward, but I want to work with them to see that we have a better handle on what we can do in every ward.
A: I have always tried to help other people. Most of the organizations I join I end up being asked to be in a leadership role. I started going to the meetings, and they ended up getting an expansion. When an opening came up for my County Board seat, members of the County Board and the Democratic Party called me and asked me if I would run for County Board. I don’t look at leadership as an ability to wear a badge and have a title. It does come with it, and it does give you some ability to get some things done, but what has always gotten me to that point is working with other people. Finding out what it is that you want and what can we work on together works best. We need to find the common ground and pursue that.
Q: What is the most important change that needs to happen in this community?
A: We need to bring jobs to the city. Good paying jobs. I do think that jobs would also impact the students at NIU because there are a lot of students who are struggling, and there are issues with food insecurity. Also, building retail doesn’t work unless there’s somebody to spend money at that retail, which is why it goes back to my opinion to needing good quality, paying jobs.
DeKALB — With the April 4 DeKalb consolidated election fast approaching, mayoral candidates participated in an audience-packed debate where they discussed issues, including local immigration policy.The debate, which was held 6:30 Thursday at the DeKalb...
