Civic Betterment Party election to nominate Village Trustee Slate

We asked all Trustees Candidates One Question

Glen Ellyn has opportunities to become a greener, healthier, and more climate-resilient community. If elected Village Trustee, what is one specific environmental initiative you would champion, and how would you work with the Village, residents, and organizations such as Go Green Glen Ellyn to make it happen?

  • Donna Jean D. Simon: "There are two aspects of the initiative that I would like to support. I am concerned that we are losing legacy trees either because of age or their intentional destruction by builders or private property owners. The village could identify these legacy trees, so that property owners are aware of the gift they have currently. However, the village cannot force property owners to protect these trees. That requires education and incentives which the village can do. The canopy is more and more important as climate changes. Therefore the village can also continue to protect the trees under its jurisdiction and also continue the tree planting efforts that are currently in process. This is especially true on the south side of Glen Ellyn where there are more open areas."

    Donna Jean D. Simon

  • Steve Thompson: "Although there are several environmental initiatives I believe we should work on in the village, I am concerned about plastics in our environment. I would like to see incentives to support our local businesses to reduce plastic bags for purchases. Paper bags and reuseable bags offer the best alternative to one time plastic bags. I would like to see a community effort to purchase an alternative and then promote it. I would also like to see a reduction in our consumption of plastic water bottles. We need new and inventive ideas to reduce plastic bottles. These ideas and others deserve a community effort."

    Steve Thompson

  • Christy Truitt: "The most impactful to the community as a whole is to preserve our historic oak ecosystem while also expanding and improving the quality of our younger tree canopy. This will protect property values and contribute to community health while improving air quality, mitigating stormwater and lake water quality issues, and sustaining native wildlife and pollinators. This requires municipal action through policy and program support, as well as HOA and residential engagement for private property management practices. Continuing the partnerships formed through the Environmental Commission, I would seek to partner with the DuPage Forest Preserve, the Glen Ellyn Park District, Go Green Glen Ellyn, the Conservation Foundation, the Chicago Region Tree Initiative, and private forestry partners to sponsor a comprehensive Canopy initiative. Also important is continuing to expand effective waste management in Glen Ellyn. While we have more specialty recycling offerings than our neighboring communities, there is still whitespace in our offerings. I would seek to attract commercial entities to establish recycling or reuse drop-off locations in Glen Ellyn and would encourage repair events, in partnership with Go Green Glen Ellyn and the Glen Ellyn Public Library or the Park District, to extend the useful life of materials."

    Christy Truitt

  • Robert Duncan: "There are several characteristics that make Glen Ellyn special. One of those characteristics is our abundance of old trees, including oaks and elms. I believe identifying and protecting these older growth trees is important, not just to preserve the character of the Village but from an environmental standpoint. Old growth trees absorb carbon dioxide, regulate stormwater and reduce runoff, among other things. They provide canopy protection and support plant growth. I'm confident that tree preservation already has Board and Village support, so my efforts would be directed towards maintaining that support for the next term. One additional area where I'd like to see the Village take a more active role is maintaining Lake Ellyn Park and Lake Ellyn - particularly the litter and condition of Lake Ellyn. Lake Ellyn Park (and Lake Ellyn itself) is a Glen Ellyn Park District asset and not maintained by the Village. However, the Village and the Park District work together on many different projects and issues. Cleaning up and maintaining Lake Ellyn and Lake Ellyn Park would be a wonderful joint initiative that could also promote community engagement."

    Robert Duncan

  • Kelli Christiansen: "As you know, I’ve been working on a tree preservation ordinance, and I hope that soon comes to fruition. This might include a heritage tree program, which could help preserve old-growth stock throughout the Village. I also want to see the Village focus on incorporating more native plantings and to examine swapping grassy areas for native ground covers, which would be more earth-friendly and might reduce maintenance costs and allow Public Works to reduce time spent mowing grass. We can do these things on government property, and we can educate residents as to the benefits of switching to native plants and ground covers on their own property."

    Kelli Christiansen

  • Robert Bessler: "Making sure that when we replace our aging fire stations, we build them to be energy efficient from day one: high-efficiency heating and cooling, solar where it pencils out, and smart storm water design. I would make it happen by working with village staff and the design team to put efficiency targets and lifetime operating costs in front of the board alongside construction costs. Not as an afterthought."

    Robert Bessler