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In The News
Published in the
Daily Herald Fence Post
December 30, 2006
I would like to take
this opportunity to commend the City Council of West
Chicago for their vote of confidence for Mike Kwasman as
the acting Mayor as we await the upcoming City
election. Aside from being the best candidate for this
position, Mike Kwasman has earned and deserves this
position. There are many reasons that I believe this
and some of those should be mentioned at this time.
Several years ago many of the leaders in the community
correctly perceived a growing problem with gangs, along
with a shortage of Police Officers. Mike and others
went to work and the end result was the hiring of 10
additional Police Officers, which has lead to a
situation where there is very little talk of gang
problems in our community now. Some time later, Mike
was appointed to the West Chicago Fire District and
while he has been gone from this board for some years
now, his very innovative ideas regarding finance, are
still supporting a Fire District operation that is
second to none. As is clearly indicated by these two
accomplishments, Mike is keenly interested in the safety
and security of the people who live in our community,
and has shown this through action, not just words.
Every July we turn out in great numbers to attend
Railroad Days/ Heritage Days events to include the
parade. For many of the past years, Mike has been very
instrumental in the overall planning of this event and
has overseen and managed the parade in total. Mike has
done this, dedicating large amounts of his own time and
never seeking any recognition or reward. Although I
have known Mike for many years, I continue to learn
things about him. For instance, about 2 years ago I was
standing with Mike in the middle of the downtown area
and one of the less fortunate and possibly homeless
individuals came up and starting talking to Mike. I
inquired as to whether Mike knew this person or not and
I discovered that Mike had been providing winter coats
to many of these less fortunate people who live in our
community. I was very impressed with this and again
learned that there always seems to be more one can learn
about anyone. Prior to becoming an Alderman, Mike was
on the Planning Commission. One of the many
accomplishments of Mike’s was pushing the implementation
of fees to be paid by developers, who build and make
money in our community, toward the support of our
central services i.e. schools, etc., thereby giving us
who live in this community some relief to our property
tax bills. As Alderman, Mike has been in the forefront
of all the great things going on in our community,
especially the assurance of “good” development. By that
I mean development that both improves our property tax
position, and enhances the overall image of our City.
This increases the property values for all of us. In
summation, I think that our City Council has given us a
real leader to lead our community and I again commend
all of them for that. Mike Kwasman seems to have to
correct mix of government efficiency/frugality, public
safety sense, correct vision as to City image, and
compassion to be a great Mayor for our City. Thanks
Council.
John C. Smith Jr.
West Chicago
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