Business growth, commuter rail service among issued discussed at Oswego Village Board candidate forum

Attracting more businesses to Oswego and the prospect of the village getting commuter rail service were some of the issues discussed during a Oswego Village Board candidate forum on March 3.

The Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the candidate forum, which was held at Oswego Village Hall. Six candidates are running for three four-year terms and two candidates are running for a two-year term in the April 1 consolidated election.

Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Rick Warner asked each candidate a series of questions. Oswego Village Trustee Jennifer Jones Sinnott, a Republican who was first elected in 2021, is running along with fellow Republicans and former Oswego Village Board trustees Jim Marter II and Terry Olson.

Incumbent trustee Karen Novy, a Democrat who was appointed to the Oswego Village Board in July 2023, is also on the ballot along with Democrats Rachelle Koenig and James Cooper.

Former Oswego Public Works Director Jennifer Hughes, a Democrat, is running for the two-year term on the Village Board along with Lori West, a Republican.

West was not at the forum. Warner read a statement from Marter, who had a business conflict and could not attend the forum.

When asked what he would do to attract more businesses to Oswego, Olson talked about the importance of having the right infrastructure in place in order for land to be developed.

“When the infrastructure is there, that makes Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty’s job a little bit easier,” Olson said.

Candidates were also asked what they would do to make Oswego a better place to live. Cooper said he would like to improve the village’s trail system

“I’m somebody who loves running,” he said. “And so I think about safety measures and as we expand and grow in Oswego, making sure that there are trails for people. I’m taking my time running down Wolfs Crossing and hoping I don’t get picked off by a car.”

The possibility of extending Metra commuter rail service into Kendall County was also discussed. Plans have been discussed to build a train station west of Orchard Road in Oswego.

Another option would use the Illinois Railway, which runs through downtown Oswego, Yorkville and Montgomery.

“However we’re able to do it, I think it would benefit our community a lot,” Novy said. “I think it would be used.”

More people might want to move to Oswego if it had commuter rail service, she said.

“I think it would bring people to move out here who wrote off Oswego because they commute to the city,” Novy said.

Hughes said Oswego getting commuter rail service is an “aspirational” goal.

“We have to be careful in how we establish what we’re going to do,” she said. “The harsh reality is that the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago area is facing about a $750 million budget deficit next year. So that deficit creates a big barrier for bringing trains out here.”

The RTA oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace suburban buses.

Koenig said she trusts that village staff will do the research regarding a commuter rail station and make a recommendation.

“And as a trustee, I’m going to evaluate that recommendation, I’m going to ask questions and work with the other trustees to make a decision,” she said. “What I think isn’t the point. What benefits the residents of Oswego, what benefits our businesses, what gets us where we want to be economically and for the experience of the village.”

Property taxes were another issue discussed at the forum. Jones Sinnott said she is proud of the fact that Oswego property owners will see a 5% decrease in the village’s property tax rate next year, bringing the village’s tax rate to its lowest level on record.

“For all four years that I’ve been on this board, we have continued to lower the levy,” she said. “That’s been the result of acting responsibly and as the result of doing our homework.”

In a statement read by Warner, Marter II said that if he is re-elected to the Village Board, he will continue to push for efficiency of the village and always keep the focus on the residents.

He said that he would work to make sure the village doesn’t add more debt and taxes for a new public works building.

“We have the ability to use money from the general fund to expand the current facility without adding debt,” Marter II said.