Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts could face a challenge from former Trustee Cynthia Mossuto in the upcoming April election, pending the outcome of a challenge to her nominating petition.
Mossuto cast her bid for village president on a slate of candidates under the party name Dixmoor United. Also on the slate is Shuaverta Miles for clerk, along with Baltazar Martinez Jr., Joy Johnson and Raymond Lavigne for three trustee seats, according to the village clerk.
Village attorney James Vasselli said Thursday Ira Rolark, who also filed a petition to run for trustee, has challenged the petitions for the entire Dixmoor United slate. There are three separate electoral boards for the candidates, one each for mayor, clerk and trustee, which village spokesman Travis Akin said ensures candidates are not on an electoral board for the position they are running for.
Akin said Cook County conducted a binder check Friday to determine if there are enough valid signatures on the petitions. Then the county will relay the findings to the electoral boards, he said.
Filing independently are Juanita Darden-Thompson for reelection as village clerk, and Charlene McFadden, Dwayne Tyson and Angela Franks-Muse for another term as village trustees, according to the clerk’s office.
Roberts, a former trustee who was elected village president in 2021, said he seeks a second term because he has more to accomplish.
“I like what I do. I like being a servant. I was born a servant to help the people. It’s not about me pretty much running just to carry a title. I run so I can have the resources where I can take care of the people of the community,” Roberts said.
Mossuto, a Dixmoor Public Library District trustee and former village trustee, said she is running for village president because she wants to see more transparency.
“We’ve had a lot of people that call the Village Hall and we don’t get any answers. I have filed Freedom of Information Acts for the last two years, even going through the attorney general’s office. No answers. So as a resident, I can’t get that information,” she said. “I would have to hire an attorney. But who has the resources to do that? I think you need to have an open and honest government.”
Mossuto and Lavigne faced an objection to their petitions when they ran for trustee seats in 2023 and were initially removed from the ballot. After appealing, a Cook County judge overruled the board, allowing them to remain on the ballot.
Given the objection two years ago, Mossuto said she and the other challengers anticipated having to go through judicial review.
If reelected, Roberts said he wants to continue work to rebuild the village through infrastructure improvements and to bring more businesses and new housing developments to Dixmoor.
Roberts said one of his goals as mayor was to replace aging water lines in the village, which is often plagued by water disruptions. In September, crews completed a $3 million project to replace a water main that runs south under Interstate 57, but Roberts said work is not done.
Roberts said he plans to build a new village hall, upgrade the Dixmoor Community Center and is working go bring a mall to Sibley Boulevard in the village.
According to the village’s 2024 multi-year capital improvement plan approved in August, rehabilitating the community center is projected to cost $500,000. This will fund the renovation of the existing structure, the parking area, drainage improvements and a connection to the sewer on Paulina Avenue. The plan also includes $10 million in Rebuild Illinois funds for water infrastructure upgrades, including a new pump station, generator and water mains. There is also $4 million estimated for lead service line replacement.
Mossuto said the village’s water issues remain dire and would be her top priority.
“I believe there’s so much more that can be done in Dixmoor. The water situation is still very bad. I mean, I live in the mobile home parks. For the last three days, our water pressure has been really low,” she said.
Mossuto said she also struggles to obtain meeting minutes and agendas for board meetings, which on the village’s website are only posted for January, February, March and April of this year. She said she would also seek to push board meetings to a later time so more residents can attend when they get off work.
“I want somebody in the village that has transparency with the residents, where the residents are part of the community,” she said. “If you can change it to seven o’clock, you have more residents that are involved. There’s no openness here. You know, the residents we’re all left, like, kind of in the dark, and that’s not fair to anybody.”
State campaign finance disclosure reports show Roberts’ election campaign, filed under the For the People political action committee, received a single $3,000 contribution from Vasselli’s law firm, the corporate counsel for the village, during the July-September quarter. The report also lists $3,000 in debts owed to Roberts and Trustees Muse and McFadden from 2021.
Vasselli is listed as treasurer for the political action committee.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
