Mayoral candidates tackle infrastructure

Blue Island hopefuls cite ‘deplorable’ management as a top issue facing city

Fixing Blue Island’s streets and other infrastructure, and finding the money to do it, is a top concern of voters heading into the April 6 election, candidates for mayor say.

Incumbent Domingo Vargas facing challenges from city clerk Randy Heuser and 2nd Ward Ald. Fred Bilotto.

Also, all seven aldermanic seats are open, following approval last year by voters of a binding referendum question that did away with the longtime practice of two aldermen serving each of the city’s seven wards.

Vargas, first elected in 2013 after serving as a 7th Ward alderman, is running as an independent. In talking with voters, Vargas said “they are content as to the progress of the city” and that fixing long-neglected streets is a priority.

Voters in March of last year also approved two advisory referendums, asking if the city should create a dedicated fund for street improvements and use the roughly $45,000 saved by the proposed reduction of aldermen to seed that fund.

Heuser had organized a petition drive to get those questions on the ballot along with the proposal to reduce the number of aldermen.

He said he would work to establish a dedicated road fund to finance street improvements.

“Our roads are in deplorable condition,” said Heuser, was clerk for eight years.

A year ago, the City Council approved a 3-cent per gallon tax on fuel sold in Blue Island that Heuser said could supplement other revenue for street repairs.

Bilotto said there is already a line item in the city’s annual budget for street repairs, but that through sources such as grants and motor fuel tax revenue there is not enough revenue to address all of the city’s needs.

“The money needed far outweighs what comes in,” he said,

Replacing sewer and water lines beneath the streets is costly, and Blue Island needs to look to county and state sources for funding, Bilotto said.

He said that the cost of rebuilding just one block of city streets, some of which haven’t been touched in decades, can range from $200,000 to $400,000.

A government and civics teacher at Thornwood High School in South Holland, the 38-year-old Bilotto, who was born and raised in Blue Island, said the city is not broke and has been able to find money in the annual budget to pay for street repairs.

Bilotto an alderman since 2014, heads the United Blue Island ticket, running with a slate of aldermanic candidates and Raeann Cantelo-Zylman for clerk and Jairo Frausto for treasurer.

Cantelo-Zylman is an alderman in the 6th Ward and a physical education teacher in Cook County

Elementary District 130. Frausto is a system administrator and formerly served two terms as 2nd Ward alderman.

Heuser, 61, has served on the High School District 218 Board for 16 years. He heads the Moving Blue Island Forward slate with clerk candidate Charlette Mitchell-Brown, a social worker who is vice president of the District 130 Board, and treasurer candidate Tom Hawley, 4th Ward alderman since 2013 and a certified public accountant.

City treasurer Carmine Bilotto, father of the alderman running for mayor, is not seeking another term. He has been treasurer since 2009 and before that served a four-year term as alderman.

An independent candidate for city clerk is Carol DiPace-Greene, who serves on the city’s library board.

Incumbent 1st Ward Ald. Dexter Johnson and 7th Ward Ald. Alan Stevo are also seeking reelection as independents.

A major employer in Blue Island had been MetroSouth Medical Center, 12935 Gregory St., which closed in September 2019 but was renovated, at an estimated cost of $15 million, by the federal government to house patients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vargas and Bilotto said they do not believe the hospital, now under the control of state officials, has since been used but that Lockwood Development Partners, a private company that bought the hospital from former operator Quorum Health, has plans to redevelop the site.

Vargas said that tentative plan calls for some medical services on the ground floor and apartments for veterans in the remainder.

Bilotto, chairman of the city council’s community development committee, said the hospital is still being staffed and utilities are being maintained. Lockwood representatives have presented to his committee some tentative plans for the building, he said.

“They still have to go through the zoning and planning process,” he said.

Vargas said the city was able to secure a $465,000 Cook County grant to demolish and do asbestos abatement for an industrial property at 119th Street and Vincennes Avenue, which is expected to be completed later this spring.

He said that site, coupled with other city-owned property nearby could be prime sites for retail or logistics development.

Vargas, 59, has worked as a criminal defense attorney since 1988. He said he is prepared to work with whoever is elected next month.

“As long as they are working for the best interests of Blue Island, I see no problem,” Vargas said.

United Blue Island

Seeking reelection in the 1st Ward is Annette Alexander, who works as a customer development manager and was elected alderman in 2019.

Running for alderman in the 2nd Ward is Luiz Montoya, who is recreation coordinator for the city’s Park District and on the board of School District 130.

Nancy Rita, alderman in the 3rd Ward since 2011, is the sister of state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island.

Candidate for alderman in the 4th Ward is Reyna Alvarado, who works as a manager for a Blue Island restaurant.

Candidate for 5th Ward alderman is Vera Bettis.

An alderman in the city’s 6th Ward since 2013, Candace Carr, formerly the owner of Carr Gardens in Blue Island, is seeking reelection.

In the 7th Ward, Judy Tovar Becerra, who served in the U.S. Marines and works for commuter rail line Metra, is seeking the aldermanic seat.

Moving Blue Island Forward

The slate is not running a candidate for alderman in the 1st Ward, but 2nd Ward candidate is Luis Esparza, who works in the auto repair business.

Candidate for 3rd Ward is Stephanie Arevalo, who works for a youth development organization.

Bill Fahrenwald, 4th Ward alderman since 2017 and a partner in a Blue Island logistics marketing firm, is seeking reelection.

In the 5th Ward, Gabriel McGee, a real estate agent who lost a bid in 2019 election, is running.

Candidate for alderman in the 6th Ward is Lauren Trinidad, who works in retail, and the 7th Ward candidate is Josh Roll, who works as a business consultant.