One in a series of stories about candidates running for village board in Plainfield.
John. G. Green says he is running for a spot on Plainfield’s village board this spring because he wants to help steer the community he was raised in and the place where he now raises his own children.
Green, 41, a principal rail engineer with AECOM and village Planning Commission member, grew up in the township.
He said that college and a career took him out of state for years until he moved back in 2012.
“I grew up here, and it’s just a great community,” he said. “It was a great community to raise a family in when I was growing up, and it still is.”
Green said he returned occasionally to visit his parents over the years and was always pleasantly surprised by the growth he saw in Plainfield each time he came home.
He recalled a much busier, less pedestrian-friendly Lockport Street, one that has now been supplanted by a variety of local businesses.
“I was shocked at the size and growth, but I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements,” said Green, a married father of three. “A lot of those great shops and restaurants along Lockport Street have really improved things.”
Green said he now manages a group of civil engineers and drafts people for AECOM, but he worked for Illinois Central Railroad before it was bought by Canadian National Railway, or CN, in the late 1990s.
CN trains stopped in the middle of Plainfield, clogging up crossings, have been a recurring concern for residents and leaders in town.
Green said he worked for CN for a time and would “certainly work” with his former colleagues to come up with “the most equitable solution” to the problem.
Green said he would support construction of a roadway bridge over the train tracks, somewhere in Plainfield’s north end, that would allow traffic to continue unimpeded during those train stoppages.
“The safest option, the most straightforward option, would be to have a bridge,” he said. “We can’t have our emergency vehicles blocked or school buses blocked by trains. It’s unacceptable.”
Green said his time on the planning commission has familiarized him with issues and helped him learn more about Plainfield’s residents.
“The interest of the citizens was something that I wasn’t expecting, on some of the zoning issues,” he said. “But I find it very rewarding to see that the local residents take such an interest in what’s going on in the community. An informed and involved citizenry is key.”
He also wants to see how the village can foster small business growth in Plainfield, such as exploring how Plainfield can pair with the local chamber of commerce to better spotlight local businesses.
“The best way to make sure that Plainfield stays a great community to raise a family in is to get involved,” Green said of his first run for elected office this year. “I think I can contribute in a positive way to keep Plainfield the great place it is.”
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