Three candidates for the Northbrook Village Board, out of six people running, appeared at a candidate forum for Northbrook village trustees on March 16. The three focused on economic development issues in Northbrook.
The forum, organized by the League of Women Voters Glenview/Glencoe at the Northbrook Public Library, was attended by incumbent candidates Joy Ebhomielen and Michelle Kohler and newcomer Matt Cassidy. Three seats on the Village Board, all for four-year terms, are open.
Ebhomielen said the League of Women Voters did not hold a forum for village president candidates because Josha Kaplan, who is challenging incumbent Kathryn Ciesla, did not agree to participate in the forum. Kaplan’s first name appears as Josh on the Northbrook Focused slate’s website but as Josha on the Cook County Clerk’s website.
Trustee candidates Laura Hochstein, Anthony Riccardi and Charles Zivin did not attend the forum for trustees.
Most pressing needs
Candidates were asked what Northbrook’s most pressing needs are.
Ebhomielen said the economic development of downtown Northbrook is a priority for her. “We’ve brought a lot of activities into the downtown area, and we are also doing a lot in terms of just trying to bring a lot of new developments, new restaurants into the village,” she said.
Kohler said her priorities included modernizing Northbrook’s infrastructure as well as bringing in more businesses to Northbrook. “This is not something that happens overnight. You don’t snap your fingers and make it move forward.”
“I’ll be focused heavily on changing our reputation as being a difficult village to work with and working on how we can provide incentives and other opportunities to bring new businesses to Northbrook,” Kohler said.
Cassidy spoke about the village’s creation of a tax increment financing district that could revive Northbrook Court. “That’s where I think it’s important to have good governance where you’re not just pointing at something and saying this is wrong, but saying, OK, here’s what comes next,” he said.
Affordable Housing
Currently, only 5.7% of Northbrook’s housing units follow the state’s definition as being affordable. According to the Illinois Housing Development Authority, municipalities that don’t have at least 10% of their housing units meet that definition must create a plan to increase their affordable housing stock to that level.
Cassidy and Ebhomielen spoke in favor of a 48-unit affordable housing complex approved by the village board.
Kohler said with the funds accumulated by the village’s affordable housing ordinance, the village is in talks with the non-profit Community Partners for Affordable Housing. Those funds can be used to create land trusts, she said, which the village can create and develop affordable housing on.
