Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the April 1 general election.
The race for mayor in Batavia in the April 1 election is between longtime incumbent Jeffery Schielke and first-time challenger Thomas Connelly.
Connelly, 32, said he has been spending time trying to build a base of voters and concerns include economic development and growth in the downtown area, followed by infrastructure as it relates to the dam on the Fox River, as well as pedestrian safety, which he says “is a big one in our town.”
“My goal and vision as mayor of Batavia would be to more actively attract new businesses and development into our downtown to fill the empty restaurant and retail space we unfortunately have,” Connelly said. “Also, to encourage the development of new sites that are empty lots right now by seeking out developers and projects that fit with the character of our town.”
The issue with the dam and the Fox River concerns “the infrastructure related to that,” Connelly said, adding “we have to preserve the Depot Pond and the health of the Fox River which is a huge asset to our town.”
“It affects both residents and businesses in our town, and we need to work with other local leaders and experts that understand the issues around the health of the river,” he said.
Pedestrian safety includes “making downtown safe and comfortable to walk around,” he said.
If elected, Connelly said he wants to work on “building the downtown, which is one of the reasons I’m running,” as well as be fiscally responsible and “strengthening our sense of community we have in Batavia.”
“My main goal is to build the downtown and we need to be much more active than what we are doing right now which is having signs on the empty development sites. We don’t have anyone who is actively seeking projects and developers and businesses that have a chance of being successful,” Connelly said. “I also would work better with our local community organizations to coordinate efforts and maximize resources.”
Fiscal responsibility means “combing through the budget and prioritizing spending on essential services and programs and seek to be creative in how we can find new revenue sources.”
“It’s better to build our downtown since local governments are facing decreased funding from the state and federal level and we need to adapt to that,” he said.
Strengthening the community is important, Connelly said.
According to Connelly, that is about “Batavia being a welcoming place, and we have a strong sense of community, but I want to invest in community-driven projects to foster a sense of pride and cohesion in our community and things that fit the character of our town.”
Schielke, 76, is running for his 12th term and said issues among voters include “conversations from Washington about the future of the economy and where all the money is going.”
“I think the same holds true with the state of Illinois and the governor’s recent speech about how he is going to have to readjust things and how money is being spent and how he is worried on the impact of that,” Schielke said. “Here in Batavia, I’ve got six senior living communities in my boundaries and we are building another one. There’s all this conversation about the future of Social Security and people need that input into their financial budget.”
Voters are also talking about cyber crime “as there are a lot of things going on where they, themselves – many of my seniors don’t have a real strong command over the utilization of computers,” Schielke said. “The police chief and I have been on the circuit these past few months telling seniors don’t give away any numbers to these folks.”
Schielke said voters are also concerned about the quality of life and “the increase of traffic around town.”
“What’s going to be the future of Kirk and Randall Road and we’ve had accidents and there are conversations with the county about steps we can take to stop things that have caused accidents there,” he said.
If reelected, Schielke said he want to focus on continuing to work on the downtown.
“I think we’ve embarked on a significant upgrade of our downtown business district and right now we are rebuilding the riverbanks,” he said. “We want to do other things like that and kind of shine the place up and make it a place people really want to visit and also live here.”
A second goal is continued growth in housing in the city, he said.
“Right now, we have one of the largest new housing numbers to come into Batavia in a long time,” Schielke said. “It would appear that between 2020 and 2026, we will approve around 700 new living units in Batavia.”
A third goal for Schielke would be to “concentrate on continuing to enhance and improve our public safety services.”
“That includes the paramedic and ambulance service which we share with Geneva and St. Charles and that, in my opinion, is working very well,” he said. “We’re experiencing significant demands on it, so we may have to expand the number of ambulances and personnel and the same probably holds true for the fire department.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
