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STERLING – Candidates for the Sterling City Council alderman at large race that will be decided April 1 met Wednesday for a forum to share their views on city issues.
Jon Mandrell, Sauk Valley Community College vice president of Academics and Student Services, moderated the 2025 candidate forum at Sterling City Hall, where candidates Jim Wise, Ryan Nares and Allen Przysucha answered questions, some of which were submitted by the public. Candidate Kaitlyn Ekquist, who currently serves on the council alongside Wise, was not present for the event.
Each candidate introduced themselves, was asked the same seven questions and had two minutes to respond.
Wise has served on the City Council for several years and is seeking reelection.
“I hope the voters will see to it that I can be a member of the City Council for a few more years,” Wise said. “We’ve done great things in the city over the last several years, and I look forward to the opportunity to be able to do more with your support.”
Nares is a local business owner who takes inspiration from his grandfather, who served as a Sterling alderman.
“I see this role as a way to be a voice for the community, not for ego, but to serve,” Nares said. “As a former correctional officer and sergeant, I learned to listen and find common ground, and also skills I bring as a business owner of The Mercantile. I’m proud to be backed by the Northwestern Illinois building trades, a testament to my commitment to supporting the local workforce. I’m also partnering with the WACC (Whiteside Area Career Center) CEO class to inspire youth to dream big and feel pride in our area.”
Przysucha is a member of Sterling’s Planning Commission, a board member of the United Way of Whiteside County and is an Area IV Governor for Rotary District 6420, in addition to several other community clubs and committees.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important than giving back to the community,” Przyscucha said. “Rotary has a motto: ”Service Above Self." I strongly believe in that. Strongly believe in giving back to community. I think it’s important to be able to do that, and this is just another avenue for me to give back and help be a voice for those that don’t have a voice. We can all make the city a better place.”
What qualifications or experiences make you the best candidate for this position, and what sets you apart from your competition?
Wise said he has extensive experience in city government, having spent nearly 30 years in various positions as either an elected or appointed official, including nearly eight years on the City Council.
“Over the last several years, we initiated a stormwater management program, we initiated the effort to redevelop our riverfront, and we’ve learned a great deal from that experience over these years, and that helps put me in a position to be a candidate for reelection,” Wise said.
Nares said his range of work experiences and his willingness to openly communicate with anyone, especially those he might disagree with, make him a suitable candidate.
“I’m confident that I can deescalate situations, find common ground and be a voice for the people,” Nares said. “I want to see more people involved. It’s hard for these city officials to read people’s minds and represent people without hearing their voice. I want to be that voice for the people.”
Przysucha said his heavy involvement in various city organizations and clubs sets him apart from Wise and Nares.
“One big thing I’m proud of is through the Sterling Township,” Przysucha said. “I’m part of the youth committee that helped form the Elevate Youth Center. Giving back to the youth, I think it’s very important. I’d love to see a partnership between the city, the township and the school district that just goes to help the youth.”
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Sterling in the next five years, and how would you address it as an alderman at large?
Nares said although fixing these issues falls outside his expertise, recent events, such as the decline of the Sterling Fire Department’s vehicles and investments into the city’s sewer systems were in good hands with city officials like City Manager Scott Schumard.
“The city’s in good hands with him,” Nares said. “I would rely heavily on people calling him to bring those to our attention because some things have fallen through the cracks, but I don’t believe that’s happened with him. The sewer is the biggest thing. Thankfully, he already has a plan for that.”
Przysucha said he believes the city’s biggest concern is supporting its fire and police departments, and credited the city for its recent approval to purchase a new $2 million fire truck with an aerial ladder.
“That’s a huge step, huge win for the fire department, but there still needs to be updating,” Przysucha said. “we need to be able to protect our citizens, and by doing that, the fire department, the firefighters, need to have the equipment that they need. They need to have the apparatuses to be able to get to those emergency situations. Same goes with the police department.”
Wise agreed with both Nares and Przysucha but said the city’s lack of housing is one of its more pressing issues.
“We have a depleted inventory, and that is causing the rental and purchase prices to be sky high,” Wise said. “Now, there are other economic patches, but we lack inventory here. We need to continue to work at bringing in opportunities for developers and builders to alleviate that problem.”
How will you balance the needs of sterling residents? Some individuals may want more infrastructure. Some want more housing, and others want tax relief. How will you decide which issues are important and how will you prioritize?
Przysucha said that no single issue should be prioritized over the other as all issues are important.
“It’s probably more of a need situation,” Przysucha said. “Housing is important. It’s all important. I just don’t think you can emphasize one particular thing to say, ‘Let’s get this done' and move on. You’ve got to be able to work with every situation that you’re given and adapt and overcome, and be able to multitask and get as many things done as possible.”
Wise said he agrees that all the issues are important, but highlighted public infrastructure and tax relief as key priorities.
“This year alone, we’re going to invest nearly seven and a half million dollars in public infrastructure,” Wise said. “The bigger chunk of that total is going to be the Second Street rebuild, but you also have to throw in all of the other streets. There’s another $1.2 million in residential streets that is going to be redone. You got curb, gutter and sidewalk that the public works department will be undertaking, and as far as the tax relief goes, we bonded out the pension debt here two or three years ago, which was a key move thanks to Scott and the support of the council and the staff.”
Nares said not everyone will agree on which issues should be prioritized, but conversation and transparency can go a long way in helping people understand why some decisions are made.
“The best way to address something like this is to be completely transparent and make people aware why decisions are made by bringing them to the table,” Nares said. “There’s been times in the past where this council has made decisions that I don’t agree with, and I didn’t understand. But after having a conversation, I understood why they came to that conclusion. So, while you can’t make everybody happy, I think it’s important for people to know that the people up here are making decisions in good faith and are trying to do the best for the city.”
How do you plan to attract new businesses and industries to Sterling while supporting existing businesses?
Wise said he would continue utilizing existing economic development organizations, such as the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and Sterling Main Street.
“Main Street is a big driver of attracting businesses into the downtown, with their incubators,” Wise said. “And while we’re sustaining existing businesses, we continue to work to find ways to reduce their costs of doing business, such as property tax levies and permitting fees can be waived periodically. So, that can help grow existing businesses.”
Nares agreed and said he knows firsthand the “fantastic job” Sterling Main Street does at supporting local businesses. He also supports the city’s investment into Sterling’s riverfront.
“As a small business owner, I know how scary it can be to start something new and to not know if you have the backing of the community or your family,” Nares said. “So, to get that from smaller entities, and then also going back to the riverfront, I feel what the city is going to do there will inspire people, because I believe there might be quite a bit of people that feel disenfranchised in this area. I want people to feel a part of this area. Invested in it. Because somebody that feels a part of it, invested in it, is very much a part of the outcome.”
Przysucha said the community does a great job of supporting new businesses and also feels the riverfront development is good for the city.
“It’s thrilling to see all the redevelopment, not just along the river, but over on the east end with Marshalls and Old Navy,” Przysucha said. “You’re starting to see a lot of influx of not only the bigger businesses, but the smaller businesses as well, like The Mercantile. I think you do have that sense of wanting to support the business, and by seeing that support and excitement, I believe that’s going to give other entrepreneurs the want and the drive to open a business here.”
Budgets are tight, and oftentimes trade offs are necessary in order for local governments to balance the books. Do you have any priorities that require significant new investments from the city, and if so, where would you divert resources to fund those investments?
Nares said he does not pretend to know everything and would consult with city administration and fellow council members if elected.
“I don’t care if my idea is the right idea,” Nares said. “I care about getting to the right idea and listening to as many people as possible to get that. So, I would rely heavily on my ear to the streets of our constituents and everybody else that’s here. I sat down with Scott the other day and got to see how the city is able to afford a $1.9 million firetruck that everybody rightfully was a little worried about. These aren’t surprises to anybody here. These are just surprises to good people that don’t attend these meetings.”
Przysucha agreed with Nares, saying city officials do a wonderful job of managing these matters and that while more transparency is always beneficial, many people’s questions can be answered by simply reaching out to their alderman or city administration.
“They will sit down and give you the time to explain why something was done or why something was paid for, or where it came from,” Przysucha said. “I think the city is doing a great job as far as funding different things. The roads are a big topic. It’s no secret we need to work on our roads. The unfortunate thing is, materials and labor for the roads keep going up, and there’s only so much money going around. I want to reassure people, roads are getting fixed.”
Wise also credited Schumard and city administration for its handling of city finances, and agreed a little more transparency is a good thing. He said the city’s financial savvy is the reason it was able to purchase its new $1.9 million firetruck.
“They’ve been able to manipulate our budget for the last several years and still give us everything that we need and find money to save,” Wise said. “We have reserves that we can tap into and fund things that we absolutely need.”
The City of Sterling is implementing new regulations for rental property owners. What are your thoughts on these new rules, and how do you see them impacting landlords, tenants in the overall community? If elected, would you support, modify or oppose these regulations, and why?
Przysucha said that before Monday, he felt there were problems with the city’s new residential rental housing code and inspection program. Although he does not agree with everything in the ordinance, such as imposing fees for inspections, he credited city administration for making some concessions in its final version of the ordinance after receiving input from outside interest groups.
“Did everybody win, no,” Przysucha said. “But did everybody lose? No. There does have to be some accountability. I think there’s a lot more good landlords than bad landlords. Having rented myself, I know outside of paying my rent, I maybe saw my landlord once. You’d like to think that these landlords know what’s going on in their units. Some of them really don’t, but if they don’t get called, there’s really no need for them to go in.”
Wise voted to approve the ordinance on Monday, and continued to support the program, saying it would also provide Sterling’s Code Enforcement department the ability to hold private property owners accountable. He said he would also like to see the ordinance modified to eliminate inspection fees.
“We don’t charge fees to walk through properties for fire inspections, and police don’t charge fees to search somebody’s garage for an intruder,” Wise said. “Nonetheless, there are other ways to accomplish this without charging for it. I support the ordinance, but I do believe that we can modify this over the next several months to ensure that all the principles involved are satisfied and willing to work together to make it work for the benefit of the community.”
Nares said while he supports the ordinance, as a business owner and a renter, he can see both sides of the argument.
“My concern was that it would increase costs after finding out what the fees were,” Nares said. “They’re not consequential, especially when talking about how many units they have. This is not a cosmetic thing. This is a safety and health thing. A lot of these homes look terrible. But that being said, that is also on the renters. I think the best thing to acknowledge is that when there is an issue and it goes unchecked for a while, the correction oftentimes is an over correction. If that is the case, I think as everybody up here said, we’re open to making sure that it’s fair to both parties, but clearly the tenants need someone to represent and protect them.”
What is your approach to ensuring transparency and accountability in city government?
Wise said he would continue to maximize social media and the internet to keep people informed and credited the city’s website for providing open access to city council agendas, materials and for providing Zoom links to meetings.
“Something that we should try a little harder to do is something along the issue of ward meetings or having town halls periodically to bring that information to the public, rather than asking that they step into this room,” Wise said.
Nares said that while there is always room for the city to improve, transparency is a “two-way street.”
“We need more people to be involved,” Nares said. “It’s hard for somebody to read people’s minds when our voter turnout is as small as it is. The amount of voices we’re hearing, you’re representing a minority. It makes things harder. For transparency, I plan to and have been posting on social media and utilizing that. I want to recap council meetings, give those in little spark-note versions on social media.”
Przysucha agreed with Nares and said it was important for people to reach out to their ward’s alderman. He also suggested broadcasting City Council meetings over Facebook Live to make them more accessible.
“It’s easy to have a problem on your street, or you have a problem with an ordinance and you sit there and stew over it, and you get mad, and you start bad mouthing the city,” Przysucha said. “That’s going to happen, but we’re here to listen to you, and if you do have a problem, bring it up to one of your aldermen. We can’t fix the problem if we don’t know about the problem.”