Current Village of Gardner commissioner Gary Cox is facing off with current mayor, Tom Wise, for the position of mayor, while five candidates are vying for the four commissioner positions available during the April 5 election.
Cox has served the village for four years as the parks and public safety commissioner, while Wise has served as mayor since 1999.
“When I took over as mayor, the village was in debt, and taxes were high,” Wise said. “Today, Gardner’s tax rate has been reduced.”
Cox, however, feels the board needs new leadership.
“I feel I would be a good leader,” Cox said. “I’d like to show transparency on the board.”
Tom Wise
A Gardner native, Tom Wise, 64, is a graduate of Gardner-South Wilmington High School, and is employed by the local Rub Ford dealership, where he makes himself available to the citizens.
Wise is seeking re-election because he has a a few more projects to finish, including looking out for the taxpayers.
Wise says he has been a good mayor, and the village hasn’t raised taxes since 1999.
His goals include listening to the citizens, keeping alert to their best interests, attempting to make Gardner grow and expand, keeping taxes low, and being a good neighbor to other communities.
“We get along good. It’s a good bunch of commissioners. We get a lot of things done with zoning and such, and help business people out. We have quite an active community. We have a prospective industrial business coming,” he said.
“There are no key issues as long as we keep taxes down. We are always cleaning up to make the town look presentable. We’ve got one of the best Tax Increment Financing Districts around, which really helps.”
He mentioned the historic town jail, the fact Route 66 — the Mother Road — runs through Gardner, and the vintage trolley car from the one-time Riviera Restaurant site as excellent tourist attractions for Gardner.
“We also have a new water system with really good soft water,” he said, noting the board was able to abate sewer and water rates, twice giving residents a free month of sewer and water service, and cut the village portion of real estate taxes in half twice.
“We are all working together for the betterment of the community — whatever we can do to help our citizens. We lowered the tax rate for the people this year, and gave out free water and sewer service for residents for one month,” Wise said in his statement.
"We are proud of our citizens and our businesses. As mayor, I always welcome any new business opportunities and help those already established."
Gary Cox
Gary Cox has lived in Gardner for 22 years. He grew up in Joliet and Eldorado, where he graduated high school.
Cox is proud of his role with the Gardner Beautification Committee, which built the gazebo downtown along the tracks, planted the town Christmas tree, and organized all town clean ups.
“I have a vision where we are all working together for the good of Gardner,” Cox said. “Hopefully we can get a unison where the board works together and works with other taxing bodies in the village.”
He’d like a chance to get a better handle on the village taxes, saying if there is money to abate, they shouldn’t be taxing for it in the first place.
“I’d like transparency on the board,” he said. “Everyone should be able to get the approved minutes from meetings and financials, no matter who they are.
"This is really the people's town, not the five people sitting in the meeting."
COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Bill Gerrish is not seeking re-election, opening his spot on the board, along with Cox’s spot, while incumbents Mike Serena and Dick Hileman are seeking to retain their positions.
The commissioners’ race also includes newcomers Sandy Jensen and Gary Riley, who ran for mayor four years ago against Wise, as well as Jim Hibler, who was first elected as commissioner in 2003, but didn’t seek re-election in the next election.
Dick Hileman
Dick Hileman has lived in Gardner for 46 years. He retired from Caterpillar in 1999, and worked as a business representative for IAMAW until 2003, when he retired.
Hileman has been on the board for 12 years as finance commissioner.
“I am proud to say we have not raised taxes since I was elected,” he said.
He worked for the approval of the TIF II agreement in Gardner.
“I was the one who researched and found a way to give the residents back 50 percent of the village portion of their taxes,” he said. “I also found a way to give the residents free sewer and water for one month, twice, to help in tough economic times.”
He is proud of his work volunteering to build the salt storage building, as well as moving the street car from the Riviera to Gardner when it was donated to the village.
“I would like to find ways to see our village grow and continue to prosper,” he said.
Michael Serena
Serena was raised in South Wilmington and graduated Gardner-South Wilmington High School in 1980. He moved to Gardner in 1988.
He has been a union laborer since 1985, and is currently a representative for Laborers' Local 75.
Serena was appointed to a vacant commissioner's seat in 2006, and was elected to a full term in 2007.
He has served as the commissioner over streets and alleys.
“I have been very easy to talk to and I am concerned with the problems the citizens have brought to my attention,” he said. “I am very accessible and I return phone calls or address the problem in person.”
He is proud that he has kept the taxpayers in mind as he worked on projects for the betterment of Gardner. He, along with a list of voluntters, was instrumental in the salt storage building to solve the road salt storage problem.
“This one project alone saved the taxpayers over $50,000,” he said, “eliminating loss of road slat due to erosion.”
He has been involved with boys baseball, girls softball, girl’s basketball, youth football, and a Cub Scout leader, along with local school and not-for-profit projects.
“My biggest downfall is not being able to say no when people ask for help,” he said. “During the early February blizzard, I did my part by jumping in one of the city trucks and helping plow.”
Jim Hibler
Jim Hibler was raised in Reddick and graduated Reddick High School in 1988.
He worked for two years as a union laborer and, in 1990, joined Will County Carpenters Local 174.
He moved to Gardner in 2000.
He has spent his time in Gardner coaching summer girls softball, summer boys baseball, and boys youth football.
In 2003, he was elected commissioner and was in charge of parks and safety.
“During my four years, I helped with getting rid of abandoned vehicles, updating playground equipment, changing out sidewalks, and purchased equipment and chemicals for spraying mosquitoes,” he said. “With the help of other commissioners, we kept Gardner’s tax rate very low and gave the extra money back to the taxpayers.”
If elected, he said, he will make himself available to the citizens of Gardner and will do whatever he can to address the issues they have.
“With the help of the other commissioners, I plan to continue cleaning up the town and I will fight to keep our taxes as low as possible,” he said.
Gary Riley
Riley was born in Gardner and raised in Herscher, where he graduated from high school in 1981. He moved back to Gardner in 1995.
He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Holy Trinity Council 15032, and belongs to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich, where he serves as a lector, eucharistic minister and teaches CCD.
He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and Air National Guard.
“I am running for village commissioner because I want to be more involved with the community,” he said. “I want to be accessible to the people of the community and work together with the other commissioners and the mayor for the good of the community.”
“The best way to make a difference is to be involved.”
Sandy Jensen
Sandy Jensen was raised in Reddick, where she graduated high school before moving to Gardner 44 years ago.
She has been involved with the Gardner Fire Belles, the ladies auxilary portion of the Gardner Fire Department, where her husband has been a firefighter for 42 years, some of that time as fire chief.
“I would love to see the board connect back with the people,” she said. “I’d love to see a website where people can go look at the minutes and other things going on in the village.”
She would like to see people get the small-town feeling of Gardner back, where people walk down the street and stop to talk to one another.
“We need to stick together,” she said.
She’d like to see Gardner get new businesses.
“Other towns are getting business and we’re not, there has to be a reason,” she said. “We need to look at what that reason is.”
If elected, she said she will learn from the others by watching and asking important questions.