http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2086&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1
12/12/2006 10:00:00 PM Email this article —ยข Print this article
john Scully
Benjamin Sells
Riverside caucus sets slate for '07 elections
Scully the lone incumbent; two leaning away from TIF
By BOB UPHUES
Amid Riverside's biggest controversy since the village board began its overhaul of the zoning code for the downtown business district, the Riverside Community Caucus has announced its slate of candidates for the April 17, 2007 trustee elections.
John Scully, an incumbent trustee known for a no-nonsense style, will head the slate, which has been dubbed Riverside Now by the caucus. He is joined by Jean Sussman, a member of the village's Plan Commission and a former chairwoman of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Sussman served on the ZBA from 1998-2006, and was named to the Plan Commission this year.
Benjamin Sells, a new member of the village's Preservation Commission and former candidate for the District 96 school board, rounds out the caucus slate.
Incumbents William Scanlon and Cindy Gustafson chose not to run for reelection in 2007.
And while the issue of whether Riverside will adopt a tax increment financing (TIF) district for its downtown remains unresolved and hotly debated, the caucus did not base its slating decisions on candidates' positions on that issue, said caucus spokesperson Maria Cerrone.
"One of the things we always look for is to try to endorse candidates who are not one-issue oriented," Cerrone said. "We scrutinize them for any conflicts of interest and look for experience in civic organizations to see if they have the kind of leadership or technological know-how they can bring to the role of trustee."
At least one of the three slate members said he is against creating a TIF in Riverside's central business district. Sells, a former attorney who operates a sail boat-leasing company at Burnham Harbor in Chicago, said the caucus didn't inquire about his stance on the TIF issue.
Sells said he wasn't sure that the TIF had passed the scrutiny of the "but for" question, which asks whether the creation of the TIF would be indispensable for development to happen within the district.
"I haven't seen a convincing case when the Village Center development, Arcade Building and condos on Burlington are underway," said Sells, who added he was disheartened by the acrimony and distrust that has accompanied the issue.
"Given what I see, if the TIF goes through and the board becomes responsible for development, it's just going to be ugly," Sells said.
Sussman, who as the chairman for the Zoning Board of Appeals voted against the Village Center development, also has reservations about the TIF issue, saying that citizens need more information about what TIF dollars would be used for.
"What I'd like to see is a better understanding of where the money would go and what we'd get for it," Sussman said. "I'd also like to see a sensitivity analysis and set of scenarios. If revenues increase by "x" percent what would we do? If we increase by twice that, what do we do? And at what point do we start giving money back to the taxing districts?"
Sussman, who has a Ph.D. in agricultural and applied economics, worked for 16 years for Quaker Oats and Pepsico before retiring. As an economist, she said she's also interested in exploring Riverside's financial issues as they related to maintaining the quality of life in the village.
"The definition of what it is to be economically viable is at the crux of the discussion," Sussman said. "I think we need to start with the basics. You can't maintain the village without looking at how you maintain the infrastructure."
Riverside's overall financial condition is also important to Scully, who spent 32 years in the Army Reserve, retiring as a general. He's spent the past 19 years at LaSalle Bank, where he's senior vice president of human resources. He'll retire from that post at the end of 2006.
"I'm not sure the TIF will be front and center," said Scully. "What prodded me [to run for reelection] was the finances of the Village of Riverside. We're starting to cut day-to-day services, and I want to work on those issues. I'm not sure a TIF is the right answer, but there are only so many things a village can do."
Sells echoed that perspective.
"We've got to do something; that's the unspoken truth here," Sells said. "Do we want service cuts? If not, then we need to get creative and find out how to fund these things."
Village President Harold J. Wiaduck Jr., who has supported the idea of the TIF during the year-long process which has not been paused by the board, said he's impressed by the slate the caucus has chosen. Wiaduck has been slated twice by the caucus, in 2001 and 2005.
"My sense is that they will be good, reflective people who will make decisions based on the facts," Wiaduck said.