North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. and his challenger in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Ald. Kenneth Smith, 5th Ward, have a similar vision for their city’s future that includes business development, strengthening infrastructure and forward-thinking.
Smith, 65, is finishing his first term on the City Council. A five-term incumbent, Rockingham, 70, is seeking his sixth term as mayor.
They both see Sheridan Crossing — a 40-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Sheridan Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive — as essential to the city’s future.
Sheridan Crossing is a key part of the city’s strategic plan, with multi-use buildings housing businesses and residences connecting with the downtown area immediately to the north. Rockingham has worked on it for a long time, and Smith thinks it has taken too long.
“He’s been here 20 years, and we’re still just talking about it,” Smith said. “We haven’t seen anything in that time. I hear the voice of the people, and they want to see things happen.”
Before Rockingham took office in 2005, he said Sheridan Crossing was already a problem. The city took ownership a year later when the previous owner went bankrupt. The land was contaminated and needed remediation, which meant working with federal and state regulators, he said.
For 20 years, Rockingham said the city worked with the Illinois Environmental Agency (IEPA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to get a plan approved. Funding of $4 million came from the federal government, along with $1 million from the state.
“It was a problem before I got elected,” Rockingham said. “We had to work with the IEPA, the EPA and RCRA. We were told we could cap it. Then we were told we had to fill it because we wanted to make part of it residential. Our plan is to receive the OK for permits from the IEPA in the first quarter of this year.”
Voters will decide whether Rockingham or Smith will receive the Democratic nomination for mayor when they go to the polls Tuesday to select who will join independents David E. Hood and Ald. Anthony D. Coleman, 2nd Ward, in the April 1 general election.
Soon after he was elected to the City Council four years ago, Smith said he held ward meetings where he invited city officials to talk to his constituents about things impacting their lives. He invited residents from other parts of the town as well. He also organized a citywide cleanup.
“Community engagement is very important so people know what’s going on in their community,” he said. “This is how we learn their concerns.”
Working with other governmental entities, like North Chicago School District 187 and the Foss Park District, is also on Smith’s agenda. Though they are separate taxing bodies, they all have a similar goal.
“Everything needs to be at the next level,” he said. “We have to invest in our schools because that’s investing in our kids. They are the adults of tomorrow. I’m all about working together for the benefit of everyone.”
Both an accomplished professional photographer for the past 40 years with assignments around the country and beyond, Smith said he is also a minister. His father, Bishop Solomon Smith, heads the Mount Moriah Christian Center in Waukegan.
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“Like being in church, an alderman is serving people at a different level,” Smith said.
With 20 years leading the city, Rockingham said he wants to guide North Chicago through the implementation of its master plan. It goes beyond the development of Sheridan Crossing to adding middle-class housing so when people go from starter homes to their next residence, they can remain in the city.
“My work is not done yet,” he said. “There is a lot of good left to do, and I want to continue with my vision.”
Smith and Rockingham share the same views on middle-class housing and other elements of the master plan.
A member and past president — the first Black president — of the Illinois Municipal League, Rockingham said his membership there and on the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning boards puts him in a position to make North Chicago more prominent.
During the last four years, Rockingham said the city’s crime rate has declined.
Currently working with county, state and federal officials, he said he hopes to see the 74-acre Halsey Village — now part of Naval Station Great Lakes — become incorporated into North Chicago and added to its real estate tax base.
Early voting is underway. People can vote from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays at the Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building in Waukegan or the North Chicago City Hall through Monday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
For those voting on election day Tuesday, Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said they can now vote at any polling place, not just their assigned location.