More Top Picks Best Flexible Seating For Classrooms
player ready...Lincolnwood voters will select three Village Board members from five candidates who are running in the April 4 election.
Incumbents Craig Klatzco, Christopher Martel and Atour Toma Sargon are all seeking re-election. They have been endorsed by the Lincolnwood Alliance Party, the village’s dominant political force.
The challengers include Snezana Markovic and Faye Abushaban.
Klatzco, Martel and Sargon provided answers below to questions posed by the Lincolnwood Review. The others did not respond.
Craig Klatzco
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Political Science from MacMurray College and a Master’s degree in teaching from National Louis University.
Profession and/or work history:
Photojournalist, small businessman – owner of Lincolnwood’s Novelty Golf and the Bunny Hutch.
Prior Community Involvement:
Paramedic – Village of Northfield
Lincolnwood Public Library Board Trustee
Village Board Trustee – elected in 2013 and 2019
What are the top issues facing Lincolnwood?
The main issue facing Lincolnwood is the redevelopment of the Lincolnwood Mall. Like all malls around the nation, they are a dying breed. I am proud to say along with my other trustees, we have developed concept plans for the redevelopment of the mall. This will help attract developers to the site.
The next issue is to continue to improve and deliver quality services to residents while maintaining our financial stability, without over-taxing the community, by expanding our sales tax base.
Christopher Martel
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (1994) and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering (1996) from University of Illinois .
Profession and/or work history: I am a licensed professional engineer and work as a Senior Vice President for a global consulting architecture/engineering firm (CDM Smith Inc.). Over my 27-year career, I’ve managed a wide variety of projects as a consultant to numerous municipalities throughout Illinois, City of Chicago departments, park districts, transit agencies, and state agencies. I’ve overseen park designs, brownfield redevelopments, stormwater improvements, Superfund site cleanups, recycling programs, transit station renovations, rail yard designs and drinking water system improvements.
Prior Community Involvement: I’ve actively served on public and professional boards, commissions and committees continuously since 1997, many within the Village of Lincolnwood. Served as Trustee for the Lincolnwood Library District for 12 years. Nominated by President Moy and President Turry, served in various committees including Traffic Commission, Ad-Hoc Sewer Committee, and Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. While on the library board, helped oversee the parking lot expansion and the library renovation; and led the push for expanding the digital collection. Currently a trustee on the Village Board.
What are the top issues facing Lincolnwood?
– Improving and maintaining our infrastructure including parks, village facilities, roads, sewers and water mains to ensure reliability and safety.
– Redeveloping the Town Center site to be a more vibrant asset to our community while not creating a greater burden on our school system.
Atour Toma Sargon
More Top Picks Ladder Tossssssssssssss
Education: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.
Profession and/or work history: I currently serve as the District Director for Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita in the 13th District. Before that, I served as Deputy District Director for Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin in the 13th District. Also, I currently serve as the Vice-Chair of the Assyrian Policy Institute (API), a national nonprofit that campaigns for the rights of Assyrians and brings Assyrian-American voices and perspectives to important discussions nationwide.
Prior Community Involvement: I was elected to the Lincolnwood Board of Trustees in 2019. Before that, I served as Lincolnwood PTA Vice-President, which was also an elected position.
What are the top issues facing Lincolnwood?
The Village of Lincolnwood has been prioritizing infrastructure upgrades including repaving aging roads and replacing water mains. This has been part of a long term, 10-year plan but the State of Illinois has recently mandated the replacement of lead lines throughout all municipalities in Illinois. Upgrading all of our aging infrastructure, replacing our lead lines, and finding grants and other funding opportunities to help finance these upgrades would be a top priority of mine.
Assessing our village parks and amenities through the creation of a master parks plan would also be a top priority for me. We have been actively upgrading parks throughout the years. Most recently, we received a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for $400,000 to help redo Flowers Park in its entirety, including the playground, tennis and basketball courts, and the addition of a bathroom. We need to continue upgrading our parks, pool, trails and community center to best serve the needs of our growing community.
Finally, ensuring that (District) 1860 continues on its successful path and getting the doors open for the residential component (tentatively June 2023), hotel, grocery store and restaurants is a top priority.