- Why did you decide to run for trustee?
When I chose not to run for reelection in 2023, it was due to significant business and personal pressures resulting from the pandemic. My drive to continue working for the betterment of Manhattan remained, and it was a very difficult decision for me. Now two years later, things have turned around and I can once again contribute for the benefit of the village residents.
I had high hopes that Mayor Adrieansen and Trustee Young would grow into their respective new positions. I was disappointed. The Mayor’s inability to lead, make decisions and deal with disagreement from others are issues that hurt the effectiveness of village government.
The Mayor is on his third Village Administrator in 3 ¾ years. Why? One is now the Finance Director for Joliet, and the other is again a Village Administrator in Will County. The Mayor has refused to follow the committee structure set forth in village ordinances since his 2021 election. Why? The Mayor hands out very few assignments, all ad hoc to Trustees he wants, rather than utilizing designated Trustees to boost work capacity and efficiency through committees, as mandated. Why? The committee structure has been in place since at least 1928 and all previous Mayors utilized it effectively. He refused. The Mayor was informed last year of an employee illegally appropriating a pay raise in violation of the board vote. That person still works for the village. Why?
When the Village of Manhattan bought several downtown buildings to land bank for the future, the Mayor withheld significant information from the board before the vote. The Trustees were not made aware that the condition was so poor in one building, it could not be rented out. I would not have agreed to purchase that particular building had he been truthful with the Trustees.
When I learned of the ethics issues Trustee Young has, I offered Trustee Beemsterboer any help I could provide in his bid for Mayor. He asked me to run with him to help:
- Bring transparency to the board
- Improve fiscal stability with my economic development experience
- Help bring employee morale back up to where it was under Mayors Doyle and Borgo
- Use my common sense approach to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.
- Have you held public office before?
Yes. I served the Village of Manhattan as Mayor from 1989 to 1993, then served as Village Trustee for 28 years, winning elections in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
- What is your background (length of time lived in Manhattan, education, career)?
My wife and I have lived in Manhattan since 1986, raising five children, who all graduated from Manhattan and the Lincolnway schools. We are now also blessed with eight grandchildren. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree, with Honors, from DePaul University in 1978 and with my J.D. degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 1981. I have been a solo practitioner since graduating law school. As Village Trustee, I completed two graduate level courses — Leadership and Development Enhancement and The Leadership Forum — with the University of Illinois. The classes were taken through the Academy for Municipal Excellence, a joint program between the University of Illinois and the Illinois Municipal League.
- What community involvement, organization, affiliations, or club memberships do you have?
While my children were at Anna McDonald, I was an active member of the PTO and served on the Board as Treasurer for two years. I was a founding member of the Manhattan School District 114 Education Foundation, serving for 10 years, four of them as president. With the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, I was a board member for two years, then served as Irish Fest Committee Chairman for three more (when the Chamber ran Irish Fest.) As a long-time member of Jackson Creek Fellowship Church, I’ve served as a Sunday School Teacher, Sunday School Director, and Deacon. I was just called back to being a Deacon, elected again to a three-year term last month.
I’ve been active with Scouting for 35 plus years as a volunteer, Den Leader, and Troop Charter Representative for both Boys Troop 155 and Girls Troop 255. I’m a merit badge counselor for six different badges and am currently doing Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the Community, and Citizenship in the World with the Scouts. For 15 years, I’ve been on the board of directors for the Curtain Call Theatre, formerly known as Lincoln-Way Community Theatre, and have volunteered and acted with the group for over 25 years. I also served as secretary on this board for four years.
- What characteristics, qualifications, or experience do you feel you possess to be trustee?
My 32 years experience on the Village Board will be helpful to the village and residents. As Mayor, I computerized the village hall and water billing, saving hundreds of manpower hours every year. I then updated all the village ordinances for the first time since 1928! I moved on to successfully implement the first recycling in Manhattan in 1990, obtaining a grant for the bins at no cost to the residents. As Mayor, I worked with our State Representative to force the RTA to give some service to our residents, as they were paying taxes but receiving no community services. The resulting Dial-a-Ride service remains to this day. I pushed METRA to locate a site for the future train station, ultimately getting the train station and service we enjoy today put into their long range plans.
As Trustee, I’ve been chairman of the Ordinance Committee, Public Grounds and Property Committee, Police Committee and, for 12 years, the Economic Development Committee. As Trustee, I always kept an open mind about what is needed, requesting reasons that something needed to be done or bought. I always take a conservative view towards raising taxes or expending village funds. I have never supported the spending of village funds or raising taxes unless it was a vital necessity.
As Mayor or Trustee, I have always tried to look ahead and ask “What could be the unintended consequences?” I’ve never been afraid to question alternatives or look for better ways to achieve our goal. The best compliment I received over my career on the Village Board was, “Mike, you always ask the best questions.”
- How can the village improve?
I would work for greater transparency and better communication between the Mayor and board. All employees need to be treated fairly and equally. The committee structure needs to be utilized again, which is already provided for in our ordinances. This will empower each Trustee with an active voice in the village government. The village must refine the focus on infrastructure improvements, which will in turn prepare it for economic improvement.
- What are important issues you’d like to address and how will you address them?
NorthPoint is a big issue today, as it has been for many years. As the boundary line agreement with Joliet is coming to a close, the board needs to be vigilant and do the best it can to protect our quality of life. I hope the lawsuit is the way. I will do whatever I can to protect our residents and their interests.
Business development has been lacking, but that is more a result of location rather than attempts. It is sometimes difficult to bring business here because we are so far from the interstates and there are larger municipal populations nearby. I was happy to work with Mayor Doyle and the previous boards to pave the way for Dollar General by selling excess village land to entice them to locate in Manhattan. We worked with McDonald’s to help them open up here. We can stay on developers’ radar by having sufficient utilities available, and quality rooftops being built to provide businesses with consumers.
Bringing back better employee morale is a major concern to me as it impacts the efficient running of the village.
- If elected, do you intend to make any changes with village staff, such as the administrator, finance, or police chief?
The Administrator, Jeff Wold, was a great Police Chief and is a very competent Administrator. I voted to hire him as police chief and was extremely pleased with his performance in the department and leadership with the officers. The village just hired a new Finance Director, who came with great credentials, and I feel he deserves the chance to prove himself. Police Chief Gulli has been an asset to the village.
- Do you have a plan to meaningfully impact property taxes, and if so, what is it?
Yes. I support Dave Beemsterboer’s pledge to freeze village taxes for two years. While the village portion is only 10 percent of the total, we need to review all expenses to make sure we are as lean as possible.
- Why did you choose or choose not to run in a slate?
I have never run on a “slate” in any of my previous elections, but have chosen to join the Manhattan First team. I have always been an independent voice, and need the freedom and independence to vote my conscience.
When discussing Dave Beemsterboer’s Mayoral run last year, I suggested he consider a slate. The current Mayor had accumulated more cash than any other candidate has ever raised for a Manhattan race, making it tough for Dave to get his message out. I suggested a slate might be the only way to counter his opponent’s deep pockets. After Dave thought about it for a few days, he told me that he liked the idea and wanted me to run with him. I agreed, as long as he understood I would vote on every issue the way I had before֫ — as I believed I should for the village — regardless of what the slate or Mayor want. Dave replied, “Of course!” He always appreciated my independence. The Manhattan First team has a common desire to increase transparency, improve the village government and keep taxes to the minimum but agree to disagree along the way sometimes.