2025 Election Questionnaire: Cameron Boudreau, Manteno Village Trustee

Name:

Cameron (CJ) Boudreau

What office are you seeking?

Trustee for Manteno

What is your political party?

The Manteno Choice Party

What is your current age?

26

Occupation and employer:

High School History Teacher at Manteno High School

What offices, if any, have you previously held?

I have, for the last seven months, been filling in as an appointed trustee to the town of Manteno. I have no other political office experience outside of internships for State Representative Parkhurst and U.S. Representative Hultgren.

City:

Manteno

Campaign Website:

No just a Facebook page.

Education:

I have a B.S. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University with a teaching license in Social Sciences. I am about to complete a Masters in History from Arizona State University online in May. I am a high school graduate of Manteno High School.

Community Involvement:

I am very involved at Manteno High School as the head boys and girls golf coach. I also work a lot of the sporting events throughout the schools. Through being a coach and working events, I have been able to develop strong relationships with the future of Manteno. I am the president of the Manteno Education Association that represents all the educators of Manteno. Through this, I have been able to build connections to our school board and as a team make Manteno schools a great place to learn and thrive.

Marital status/Immediate family:

I have a loving girlfriend, Megan, and a loving one and a half year old puppy named Rosie.

Questions:

What makes you the most qualified candidate?

I want to say off the bat that this is a very humbling question. With that, I know that this is just a snapshot and that anyone can ask me anything about the town to get a full picture of who I am and all my beliefs.

What I think makes me the most qualified is my passion for Manteno, my political experience in state and national government, and my connections within the town. First for my passion. I have loved Manteno since I was a little kid. I love the connections most people have in town, the pride of being a panther, especially now teaching in the school I graduated from. I feel that Manteno is unique in the fact that as a small town we represent, to me, the heartland of America. I have said I think Manteno reflects the best qualities from caring about our neighbors, how we can unite in times of struggle, and how we invest in the community.

I think my political experience is also a benefit. From working as an intern for our former State Representative Lindsay Parkhurst in Kankakee, to working in the U.S. Capitol Building for the U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren, these experiences have taught me how to work with differing opinions and still be able to get things done. I know that Manteno has varying opinions on issues, but as a trustee I feel that I can be seen as a mediator to create further progress for our town. I also think that my natural passion to be involved from a young age is a benefit and something that I am pushing as a teacher to my students. We are fortunate to have a say in what our government does and the priorities we want. I feel that my passion can create more active citizens.

Finally, I think my own connections with the town offers a perspective that our current board does not have, which is younger adults and the youth of Manteno. Since I am a high school teacher, I get to talk to our teens everyday, but most do not feel like they have a say in our town. I think being able to represent them and allow them to bring concerns to me that I can bring to our board is an asset. These youth are the future of Manteno so we need to do what we can to help them see the town as we have, which is a great place to live and raise future generations. I think as a 26 year old I also represent that new generation of young adults who have moved in or stayed in Manteno. Having their voice heard, like others, is vital to keeping our town strong and progressing into a positive future. At the same time, I have many friends who are in their sixties, seventies, and eighties. I believe that I am very relatable to most people. I have an old soul and I think that from teenagers to experienced folks, I can connect the town together. Therefore, I think these three things are assets I can uniquely bring as a trustee of Manteno.

What would you rank the greatest weakness and strength of the governmental organization you’re running for?

I think that the greatest weakness currently of the Manteno Village Board has been the public’s perception of the board itself. As a trustee for the last 7 months I have learned a lot about what the Village is and what it is not in charge of. I think it surprises people when they get our tax rebate back that we are only a small portion of what the property taxes go into. That is due to the fact that as a village board we are in charge of the police department, the roads in Manteno, the parks, which we have fourteen of, promoting local business, and the general safety. Through my time I have heard people ask or want answers on things relating to the schools, youth sports programs, the purchase of businesses, etc. We are very limited to what we can do. I cannot as a village trustee stop someone from buying a property, house, etc. I cannot fire or hire youth sports coaches. I cannot force the school board to change their procedures. They have their own boards to make those decisions. I know that there are some people in Manteno that are not happy with some recent decisions, especially the Gotion decision, that was made by this village board. However, I feel that it must be said that every other board in Manteno, including the school board, library board, fire board, township board, etc. also agreed to that decision. Now this was before my time as trustee, but I can say that I feel confident that if every single one of those boards thought that was the best decision for the town, then I have to trust their decision.

For the greatest strength of the Village of Manteno, I think it is our recent developments throughout the town. Just picture Manteno 10 years ago, in that time we have built/updated parks including the Square on Second, Legacy Park, and Theis Park, where many new events are held. We have also built and paid off a new police department that can be used for decades to come. Maybe most important to Manteno is that the Village started a full tax rebate for your tax portion that goes to the village. Not many towns around us have a full or any tax rebate. This shows that smart financial decisions have been made by this board. So why would we want to shift to brand new policies that cannot guarantee this. Why not continue with this progress, which I believe is this village’s greatest strength.

Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?

I believe this is an issue that needs to be handled by our Attorney General of the United States and the Illinois Attorney General. I fully support the Manteno Police Department and will do what I can to make sure that they are in the best spot to deal with anything that comes their way.

What are your top three priorities for our city, and how do you plan to address them?

The top three priorities that I have as trustee is to continue financial stability, improve transparency as a village board, and reunite the town together. For continuing financial stability I have already touched on this in previous answers, but I know that we have to keep our tax rebate and garbage costs paid for by the village, not its citizens. That is going to require us to be strategic with our spending and make sure that we continue to use the funds we got through the Aqua sale in a smart way. I know the village has finished some big projects that put that money back into the town. At this point I do not see any other major projects on the horizon. I think our plan for the next few years should be to maintain and progress our town in small ways.

For improving transparency, this has been priority for me since I have gotten on the board. I want any Mantenoan to feel comfortable reaching out and asking me questions on anything that involves the town and choices made. By sharing my email, cboudreau@villageofmanteno.com, I hope people know that I will answer and be timely in my response. I feel as a board we need to make sure that we are all transparent on our decisions by expressing how we came to those decisions and why we feel it is best. I know that through our committee meetings, which are open to the public, great discussions are happening. We must push those out better with our general meetings, either through public minutes or video. I make no decision lightly and I always plan on having the best of Manteno in my choices. I will make sure that the other trustees and the mayor do too because we are a stronger, more effective board when everyone in Manteno knows why we are doing what we are doing.

I know that these last few years have been hard for Manteno at times, not only from the pandemic but with the decision on Gotion. I know that this village board, as did all the other boards in Manteno, all decided that this was the best path forward for this town. If all of those people believed that to be the case, I believe that this was then the right decision for our town. I believe having open conversations between the Village and the public allows for everyone to have their voices heard. Through these conversations we will find the best path forward for Manteno. I love Manteno and I will work hard to help make this happen.

How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?

I know that small businesses are what makes Manteno great. Therefore I think as a trustee I will work hard to bring businesses into Manteno and make sure those that are already here feel supported. When it comes to environmental sustainability, I know that if resources are being used that impact our land we have to be conscious and careful. I will trust our county, state, and national government with their reports on our environment. I am no expert on environmental sustainability, so I will lean on those officials and educate myself to make sure that no decision is made without having a full understanding of its impacts.

What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?

I think that Manteno is in a good spot with public transportation. We have county buses that come to Manteno frequently. There is a bus that runs to Midway airport that stops in Manteno and is only two dollars. I have used that many times and we are fortunate to have that for us. I think that our traffic laws and speed limits seem to be justified and help prevent accidents. While I believe Manteno is in good shape, I am always receptive to new ideas or innovations with public transportation.

As for infrastructure, again I feel that we are in better shape than most towns. We have recently built a new police station, we have a new town hall, and we seem to be continuing to modernize our infrastructure. I know that we continue to repave roads when needed and will always be looking to make sure that our structures are up to code. As a trustee currently working on properties and recreation, I can also say that we continue on a yearly basis to update park equipment and keep them to the highest standards of safety. Again if there is anything that a resident feels we can improve on, please reach out to me.

What role should the city council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth?

I think we should play an active role in building our local businesses and economic growth. I think small businesses make Manteno great. We have so many great small businesses in food/drinks, service, housing, auto, etc. that when possible we should help keep them strong. That is why the village buys our towns’ Christmas lights for Manteno from ACE. We want to make sure our small businesses know that we want them and want them to succeed. For economic growth more generally, I feel that if we are not looking to grow then we are stagnant. We should want new businesses to set up shop in our town because we will feel that back through them buying goods from our small businesses and helping raise the wages of all Mantenoans. Whatever I can do as trustee to help out those local businesses I will do my best. To that point, shop locally when possibly because they are our neighbors.

What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?

I think the top public safety concern for most people of Manteno is to make sure that they and their loved ones feel safe in our town and safe living in their homes. How we achieve this is by making sure that our police and fire department are given what they need to do to do their jobs best. I have talked with our police chief and toured the new police department. We have a great relationship on getting things to our officers and making sure they have what they need. For example, they have a drone that they use in different aspects when trying to catch criminals, but that drone has a short battery life. So we as a village board decided, after the chief brought this to our attention, to buy an additional drone that is more up to date so that they can take shifts if needed. With that, we are planning to train more officers to be able to use drones. Through our police department, they are constantly reminding our residents to lock their doors, lock their cars, and patrol the town on a constant basis. I can say that I feel safe living in this town and I know when we have openings for police officers that we are getting many applicants where parts of our state are getting none. Therefore, we must be doing something right.

When it comes to the fire department they have their own board, but I plan on meeting with them and making a strong connection. I want them to know if they ever need help, the village will support them to keep our town safe. My grandfather was a fire chief. I know the dangers they face and I want to make sure that they have the best equipment to save our residents and our homes. I look forward to building those relationships with those firefighters.

What can or should the city to do increase affordable housing?

Candidate did not respond.

How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?

I think that this should be a priority for all government officials, we are here to make sure that our town is open to everyone. For example, I had a resident in November ask me if we had any partnership with the River Valley Special Recreation Association who works with kids to adults with disabilities and special needs. I realized that we did not so I went and met with their executive director and that resident. I was able to have them present at a village board meeting and am continuing to work with them to get some kind of partnership for those members of Manteno. This is now a priority of mine because a resident brought it to my attention. My hope is to serve all of you as trustee and I am always open for any ideas to make Manteno more inclusive. My email, cboudreau@villageofmanteno.com, is always there to any resident who wants to reach out.

Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?

Absolutely, we are choosing to put ourselves in the public eye. Due to this, we should have to show our fellow Mantenoans all the finances that we make, property owned, stocks owned, etc. For me personally, this I think has been a nationwide issue and causes distrust in our government. I am very open about any conflicts of interest that there may be and am very open about my finances. Anyone can ask me how much I make, what I own, etc. I think that this is a good way to rebuild the trust in our public government.

For enforcement, I believe there are already laws in place, but we can make sure it is posted on the village website for easy access. Also, FOIA is always allowed. Again, we, the candidates running, are choosing to be in the public’s eye, therefore we have to be open with who we are in all aspects.

How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?

I have tried in these seven months so far on the board and at every board meeting that any resident can contact me whenever they want. My email is cboudreau@villageofmanteno.com. I am very cognizant of responding to emails within 24 hours. With that, especially since I am new, I am very open to any questions residents have when it comes to village decisions, any changes they feel like the village should do, or any generic questions. I will fully answer any question they ask. Now, I cannot guarantee that you will always be in agreement with my decision, but I am always open to other opinions. I have been convinced to change some decisions, but in other cases I believe in respectfully disagreeing. As a public official I know that I will not always please everyone, however, I am beholden to those decisions and I hope that my fellow Mantenoans know that I am doing what I believe the town wants and always for the betterment of the town I love. Please do not be shy to approach me if you see me in town, at stores, or walking my dog. I love talking to people about Manteno.