Huntley Village President Hoeft challenged by Trustee Piwko

Voters in Huntley will decide on the next four years of village leadership Tuesday as incumbent Village President Timothy Hoeft faces off against board member John Piwko.

During a recent endorsement interview with the Daily Herald, Hoeft pointed to successes with residential and economic projects during his first term, among them the Cornell Luxury Apartments development, the mixed-use redevelopment of the former fire station downtown and the Amazon facilities on the village’s south side.

[ Read Timothy Hoeft's Northwest Herald candidate questionnaire ]

[ Read John Piwko's Northwest Herald candidate questionnaire ]

“We’ve had a phenomenal amount of growth throughout the village in all sectors,” said Hoeft. “Balanced growth is what makes Huntley work.”

Piwko, 64, has served 16 nonconsecutive years on the village board. He said he’s challenging Hoeft because ideas he’s proposed as a trustee, including some related to road improvements, have been ignored or scaled down too much to make a difference.

He said he advocated for delaying some other projects to prioritize the widening and reconstruction of Kreutzer Road, which now faces funding uncertainty with the fear of cuts from federal and state money.

“I felt that could have been done a couple of years ago, and it should have been done first before all this other development going on,” he said.

Hoeft countered by saying they’ve been working on the project for 10 years and, under his leadership, they’ve acquired more funding, like the $5 million grant they received from the McHenry County Council of Mayors, that have moved the project forward.

“Quite frankly, without those, that project doesn’t happen,” he said. “There is nothing we could have done differently from a financial standpoint or our infrastructure program that would have sped up the Kreutzer Road project.”

Piwko said he’s also been advocating for Huntley to add a “destination venue,” such as a dinner theater, comedy club or the like, to draw visitors to the town, which would benefit downtown businesses.

“It would give them an opportunity to capitalize on that,” he said.

Hoeft, 45, is an engineer/excavation contractor who served on the village board for six years before being elected village president in 2021.

For his part, he said his leadership style is focused on collaboration.

“I’ve been real cognizant of trying to make sure that every trustee’s voice is heard and every village board meeting and in between,” Hoeft said.

He said he believes he “deserves” another term as village president.

“I think you can see the difference we’ve had in my four years and the difference in leadership styles,” he said. “I haven’t made a promise that I haven’t kept.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250327/news/huntley-village-president-hoeft-challenged-by-trustee-piwko-in-tuesdays-election/