Eight people have filed petitions to run for the Elgin City Council next spring but longtime Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger is not one of them.
A council member since 2017, Rauschenberger said she decided to not seek a third four-year term to make way for someone younger who will bring a new perspective to municipal government.
Her fellow incumbents Corey Dixon, Steve Thoren and Dustin Good did file their petitions to run again and will be challenged by Diana Alfaro, Mark W. Smith, Maggie Beyer, Cecilia Ivana Brooks and Erik Bosque Pena.
Thoren, a radio show host on WRMN-AM and licensed auctioneer, and Good, a self-employed social entrepreneur, are completing their first terms. Dixon, senior assistant director of administration for the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, is running for a third term. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2023.
Alfaro ran for a council seat in 2023. Her LinkedIn profile lists her as a Latinx business development manager with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Smith, who entered the council race in 2021 but later withdrew, is commander of the American Legion Post 57. He works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program and is a former Elgin police officer, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Beyer is a committeewoman for the local Republican Party and volunteers with the Elgin Township’s Committee on Seniors.
Brooks is a Republican committeeman for Elgin Township District 17 and secretary for the Kane County Young Republicans. She is involved in community activism and works in sales.
Bosque Pena is president of Friends of Masons in Elgin. He is a union laborer who specializes in robotic inspection of underground infrastructure, according to his biography on the Mason’s website.
The election will be held April 1, 2025. There will be no primary because fewer than 16 candidates are running for the four vacancies.
Rauschenberger, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019, said Tuesday she thinks her departure will mix things up on the council.
“I think it’s time for a change. I think change is good,” she said. “The future (of younger residents) is at stake. … They need to really come in with a vision and plans that look 20, 30 or 40 years in the future.”
Elgin has done a good job maintaining its infrastructure and providing public safety, she said. The council needs to continue prioritizing both, she said.
A married mother of three, Rauschenberger is an occupational therapist for School District U-46, according to her profile on the city’s website.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
