Argoudelis tops Bonuchi on election night in race to be next mayor of Plainfield

John Argoudelis appeared to come out on top over Margie Bonuchi on election night in the hotly contested race to be the next mayor of Plainfield.

Argoudelis earned a 2,318 votes, of nearly 53%, to Bonuchi’s 2,076 votes, or 47%, according to unofficial results from both Will and Kendall counties.

Bonuchi has been a Plainfield village trustee since 2009 and is the technology administrator at the Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202.

Argoudelis is an attorney with a practice in Plainfield and has experience in local elected office. He was formerly the supervisor of Plainfield Township and a Will County Board member.

Michael Collins, the sitting mayor of the village of around 44,000 residents, decided not to run for reelection in this cycle. He has been the mayor of Plainfield since 2009 after having served as a village trustee.

The next mayor will be tasked with continuing a number of major projects already underway as Plainfield, like the rest of the county, emerges from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The village has been pushing to grow its development and housing stock to the west to attract more businesses. Officials are also taking steps to begin the extension of 143rd Street, a $64 million project meant to alleviate traffic.

Bonuchi has focused her campaign on lowering the tax burden on residents, finding ways to lessen traffic, and upgrade local planning for new developments.

She said she wants to rethink how the village has been planning its developments to achieve a better balance of new businesses while also maintaining a high quality of life for residents.

Argoudelis has argued the existing village leadership hasn’t done enough to aggressively pursue new businesses and amenities like some of Plainfield’s neighbors. He has positioned himself as the candidate of change and a challenge to the “clique” in power in the village.

He has claimed the problem with Bonuchi and other elected leaders in Plainfield is their practice of “cronyism” at the expense of overall growth.

Such barbs have at times turned the campaign into a back-and-forth between the two candidates. Both exchanged accusations of wrongdoing, and both denied the allegations coming from their opponent.

Dan Mikrut, who’s lived in Plainfield for over 30 years, said Tuesday it was Bonuchi’s message that resonated with him.

Mikrut said it was a difficult choice because he also knows Argoudelis and while his vote for Bonuchi was “nothing against John,” he felt she had the requisite experience.

“I think she’s done a good job in town,” Mikrut said. “Things are developing pretty well and I think she’ll continue to do that in the future.”