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Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Aurora Mayor John Laesch chooses his leadership team at City Hall
New Aurora Mayor John Laesch, who has now been in office for over a week, has chosen the team of people who will help him lead the city. Laesch was sworn in as Aurora's 60th mayor on May 13 after winning over incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin in the April 1 consolidated election. Soon after taking office, Laesch hired three new people from his transition team to work in the Mayor's Office and recently appointed four others, with approval from the Aurora City Council, to other upper city management positions. Shannon Cameron, who led Laesch's transition team, was hired to be his chief of staff — a position that seems to functionally replace the chief management officer position formerly held by Alex Alexandrou. The job of the chief of staff position, Laesch told The Beacon-News, will be to run the city when he is not around, even though he plans to be hands-on with city staff. The goal is to have him and Cameron be 'interchangeable,' he said. Cameron was chosen because she is a 'get-it-done kind of person,' according to Laesch. He said she is able to cut through the red tape, speak her mind and jump into action to do the right thing. Alexandrou also had that type of personality, which the role needs, Laesch said. Plus Cameron's experience both from her time helping to found the Paramount School of the Arts and from her time as executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry means she brings a strategic planning perspective to the mayor's office, he said, which balances out his own tendency to be goal-oriented. Nicholas Richard-Thompson, who was also on Laesch's transition team, is now serving as the city's deputy chief of staff. The city previously had two of these positions, held by Alex Voigt and Maria Lindsay, and Laesch said he is planning to hire another soon. Richard-Thompson will bring a different perspective to the mayor's office, Laesch said, and is a creative thinker while having similar values to others on the team. Plus, Richard-Thompson knows a lot of people in the community and within city government, Laesch said. When asked by The Beacon-News about his new role, Richard-Thompson said he was happy and honored to be selected, but also surprised. He said he has been a local community organizer for over a decade, and has years of experience working in public administration, including seven years with the city of Aurora working in community engagement, economic development and communications. He hopes to bring all that experience with him to this new role and to 'lead with integrity, execute excellently and build a stronger community,' he said. According to Richard-Thompson, Laesch has built a 'robust' and 'dynamic' team that he is looking forward to working within. Rounding out Laesch's new mayor's office team is Casildo 'Casey' Cuevas, who is now the deputy mayor. Also a member of Laesch's transition team, Cuevas was brought in because of his experience, particularly in working with the constituents of other elected officials, as one of the new administration's goals is to be more responsive to the community, according to Laesch. Cuevas previously worked for state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, as her community service director. In a Facebook post last week, Villa said Cuevas was a 'fierce advocate for our community, going above and beyond to support our constituents.' In the deputy mayor role, Cuevas will bring that same level of responsiveness to residents, according to Laesch. Plus, he said Cuevas is bilingual and 'knows his way around multiple layers of government, which is important.' The goal, Laesch said, is to have Cuevas working with a restructured communications department that is more focused on active community engagement out in the neighborhoods, particularly in those which have a heavy Latino population. In addition to the nonprofits Cuevas has founded or worked with, he is also the chair of Working Families Aurora, a local political action committee, or PAC, that supported Laesch and many others — including the newly-inaugurated Ald. Keith Larson, at large, and Ald. Javier Banuelos, 7th Ward — in past elections. According to Laesch, Cuevas was the only person he hired that was an active part of his campaign. Still, two of the four people Laesch appointed to upper city management positions outside of the mayor's office — both of which were confirmed by the Aurora City Council Tuesday — have been supported by Working Families Aurora when they previously ran for local public office. Ram Tyagi, who was confirmed as the city's new chief information officer, unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Aurora Public Library Board in the recent April 1 consolidated election. Tyagi was not only supported by Working Families Aurora but was also endorsed by Laesch, as seen in a sample ballot posted to his mayoral campaign Facebook page. Laesch told The Beacon-News that Tyagi is an ethical, transparent and strong leader that has the right personality to take over the city's IT department during a time when changes are coming soon. 'I think he'll be able to make assessments about what needs to change,' Laesch said. 'He's got a very laid-back personality but (is) also very firm in his position.' Tyagi, whose resume shows he most recently worked at Harris Associates, an investment firm, as its vice president and head of investment operations — technology, is taking a pay cut to join the city, according to Laesch. He said public service is a big part of who Tyagi is as a person. Nicole Mullins, who was confirmed Tuesday as the city's new chief community services officer, was also formerly endorsed by the Working Families Aurora PAC when she unsuccessfully ran for the Aurora City Council's 6th Ward seat in 2023. Laesch said that, while there are probably other people equally as qualified to take the position, Mullins has high standards as a team builder and, similar to Tyagi, is not afraid to push for change where it is needed. She has a good vision, and the community services department will be seeing some changes in its focus areas, he said. According to her resume, Mullins most recently managed the Illinois Department on Aging's Community Care Program for Southern Kane and Kendall counties. However, she may be more well known in Aurora as the founder and president of L.I.F.T. Aurora, the organization behind Culture Stock, which ran a bookstore and cultural arts center in downtown from 2012 to 2018. Although Tyagi and the others whose appointments were OK'd by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday saw unanimous approval, Mullins did not. Ald. Juany Garza, 2nd Ward, and Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, voted against her appointment. When asked why he didn't vote for Mullins, Franco said she was part of a group that, a couple of years ago during his re-election campaign, disrupted one of his neighborhood meetings by 'yelling and swearing and screaming' and trying to make him angry so they could videotape it. Plus, during a different meeting that residents had called to discuss issues with the HelloFresh factory, he was shut down by the same group when he tried to speak, he said. 'I find it pretty amazing that a person who's going to be now in charge of the neighborhood groups would act in such a way — a despicable way,' Franco said. 'It was not just her, it was the whole group, but if you're part of that group, then you have some culpability in how people act.' Mullins told The Beacon-News that she attends many community meetings and was not involved in stopping Franco from speaking at the meeting about HelloFresh. She is not responsible for what other people do, she said, and doesn't believe city officials should 'dictate how community members organize to share their concerns.' 'I think those of us in positions of power, elected or otherwise, need to realize that criticism and expectations of accountability comes with the territory,' Mullins said. 'We serve the community. I'm now also not immune to that.' As the city's new chief community services officer, Mullins said she sees many opportunities to fix or improve relationships in the community and wants to focus her energy there, including on her own with elected officials. She wants a good working relationship with all aldermen regardless of how they voted, she said, so they can work together for the benefit of the community. Another upper-level appointment approved by the Aurora City Council Tuesday was Eduardo Questell, who is the city's new director of brand, marketing and digital strategy. Questell most recently worked at Gilmore Marketing Concepts, Inc., of Elgin, as a visual and web designer. Questell, Mullins and Tyagi were all on Laesch's transition team. Also confirmed to an upper city leadership position by the Aurora City Council at the Tuesday meeting was Adrian Perez, a longtime city employee who will now serve as the city's superintendent of streets. Perez has worked in Aurora's Public Works Department for years, originally starting as a seasonal worker in 2005 before being hired on as a maintenance worker in 2012, according to his resume. Since then, he has risen through the ranks and most recently served as the assistant superintendent since 2021. The Aurora City Council also chose at Tuesday's meeting to keep Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, as the mayor pro tem, meaning he will lead City Council and Committee of the Whole meetings when Laesch isn't there. rsmith@
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aurora Mayor-elect John Laesch announces transition team
Aurora Mayor-elect John Laesch, a current city alderman at-large, announced Monday the team of people who will help guide his transition into the mayor's office. Laesch's official transition committee is being tasked with making sure there is a smooth transfer of city leadership and will be made up of 20 people representing both 'extensive' institutional knowledge and grassroots experience, according to a news release. Included on the team are past and present elected officials, community organizers, civic leaders and city employees, among others. 'Our committee represents the heart of Aurora — people who know our city, care deeply and have spent years working toward justice, access and transparency,' Laesch said in the release. 'This group reflects the community's diversity, knowledge, ethics, experience and shared vision for a more transparent, accountable and people-centered local government.' Laesch is set to be sworn in as Aurora's next mayor on May 13 alongside newly-elected or reelected members of the Aurora City Council. Laesch won the mayoral election over outgoing Mayor Richard Irvin earlier this month. Over the next few weeks, Laesch's transition team is set to review city operations, engage with the community and develop early goals for his incoming administration, the release said. 'We are building a government that works for the people — because it's powered by the people,' Shannon Cameron, chair of the new transition committee, said in the news release. 'This team is ready to get to work.' According to her LinkedIn profile, Cameron previously served as the executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry from 2021-2024 and before that was the director of Education and Community Engagement at the Paramount Theatre from 2017-2021. In the latter role, she was the founding director of the Paramount School of the Arts, Laesch's news release said. Cameron is also a mental health professional, a former public school teacher and a member of Aurora Mutual Aid, Aurora Rapid Response Team and the League of Women Voters, according to the release. Past and present elected officials make up a large chunk of the committee. Among them is former Aurora Mayor David Pierce, who has also previously served as the Kane County clerk and as a Kane County Board member. Also on the transition team is Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, who is the longest-serving alderman on the Aurora City Council with more than 40 years in office, the news release said. Ald. Ed Bugg, 9th Ward, and Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, were also announced to be on the transition committee. Mesiacos ran for mayor against Laesch and Irvin in the past election but lost in the primary. So did two other members of Laesch's new transition committee: Karina Garcia, president and CEO of the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Jazmine Garcia, who dropped out of the race ahead of the primary to endorse Laesch. While other aldermen were not added to the transition committee due to open meetings law requirements, Laesch is planning to meet with all sitting aldermen and newly-elected members of the Aurora City Council to 'make sure that their opinions are included in strategic goal-setting and the decision-making process,' according to the news release. Other elected officials on the transition team include Kane County Board member Mavis Bates, Aurora Alderman-elect Keith Larson and Naperville Township Trustee-elect Gautam Bhatia, who is also the chair of Naperville Township Democrats, Laesch's news release said. Chuck Nelson rounds out the list of elected officials on Laesch's transition committee as both the current District 5 trustee for the Fox Metro Wastewater Reclamation District and a former Aurora alderman. He also previously worked at the city of Aurora, most notably as Irvin's deputy mayor from 2017 to 2020. Another former city employee on the transition team is Ray Hull, who spent 36 years working at the city of Aurora's Water and Sewer Maintenance Division and in the most recent past election led an unsuccessful campaign for 1st Ward alderman. He also previously served on the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education and is a former labor leader. Also announced for Laesch's transition committee is Nicholas Richard-Thompson, another former city employee. He is now the director of communications at the Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative, the Midwest regional organizer for Black Alliance for Peace and a member of the boards of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, Aurora Mutual Aid, Simply Destinee and Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry. Michelle Velazquez, a current Aurora fire inspector and former labor leader, was also announced to be on the transition committee. Laesch's transition team also includes Casildo 'Casey' Cuevas, who is the chair of Working Families Aurora, a PAC that supported Laesch, Larson and other candidates in the past election. Cuevas is also the founder and vice president of non-profit UNI2, bilingual community service director for state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and immigration chair of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, according to the news release. Ed Mullen, an attorney who represented Laesch in a challenge to his petition for mayoral candidacy, is another of the announced transition team members. Others on the transition team are active community members, including Salek Khalid, an advocate for immigrant and refugee rights as well as Muslim civic engagement who currently serves as program manager for immigrant justice partnerships at The Resurrection Project. Nicole Mullins, founder and president of L.I.F.T. Aurora (Culture Stock) and community care unit supervisor at Senior Services Associates, was also announced for Laesch's transition team. So was Ram Tyagi, who has over 25 years of experience in the tech industry and management, currently serves as treasurer of his Homeowners Association Board and is a board member of LibraryCreate, a nonprofit focused on youth empowerment, literacy, and community service, according to the news release. Rounding out the transition committee is Christina Whitty, who the release said has over 36 years of leadership in conducting financial and risk control analysis and document assessments. There are also ongoing efforts to add additional members to the transition team, Laesch's news release said. rsmith@
Chicago Tribune
21-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora Mayor-elect John Laesch announces transition team
Aurora Mayor-elect John Laesch, a current city alderman at-large, announced Monday the team of people who will help guide his transition into the mayor's office. Laesch's official transition committee is being tasked with making sure there is a smooth transfer of city leadership and will be made up of 20 people representing both 'extensive' institutional knowledge and grassroots experience, according to a news release. Included on the team are past and present elected officials, community organizers, civic leaders and city employees, among others. 'Our committee represents the heart of Aurora — people who know our city, care deeply and have spent years working toward justice, access and transparency,' Laesch said in the release. 'This group reflects the community's diversity, knowledge, ethics, experience and shared vision for a more transparent, accountable and people-centered local government.' Laesch is set to be sworn in as Aurora's next mayor on May 13 alongside newly-elected or reelected members of the Aurora City Council. Laesch won the mayoral election over outgoing Mayor Richard Irvin earlier this month. Over the next few weeks, Laesch's transition team is set to review city operations, engage with the community and develop early goals for his incoming administration, the release said. 'We are building a government that works for the people — because it's powered by the people,' Shannon Cameron, chair of the new transition committee, said in the news release. 'This team is ready to get to work.' According to her LinkedIn profile, Cameron previously served as the executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry from 2021-2024 and before that was the director of Education and Community Engagement at the Paramount Theatre from 2017-2021. In the latter role, she was the founding director of the Paramount School of the Arts, Laesch's news release said. Cameron is also a mental health professional, a former public school teacher and a member of Aurora Mutual Aid, Aurora Rapid Response Team and the League of Women Voters, according to the release. Past and present elected officials make up a large chunk of the committee. Among them is former Aurora Mayor David Pierce, who has also previously served as the Kane County clerk and as a Kane County Board member. Also on the transition team is Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, who is the longest-serving alderman on the Aurora City Council with more than 40 years in office, the news release said. Ald. Ed Bugg, 9th Ward, and Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, were also announced to be on the transition committee. Mesiacos ran for mayor against Laesch and Irvin in the past election but lost in the primary. So did two other members of Laesch's new transition committee: Karina Garcia, president and CEO of the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Jazmine Garcia, who dropped out of the race ahead of the primary to endorse Laesch. While other aldermen were not added to the transition committee due to open meetings law requirements, Laesch is planning to meet with all sitting aldermen and newly-elected members of the Aurora City Council to 'make sure that their opinions are included in strategic goal-setting and the decision-making process,' according to the news release. Other elected officials on the transition team include Kane County Board member Mavis Bates, Aurora Alderman-elect Keith Larson and Naperville Township Trustee-elect Gautam Bhatia, who is also the chair of Naperville Township Democrats, Laesch's news release said. Chuck Nelson rounds out the list of elected officials on Laesch's transition committee as both the current District 5 trustee for the Fox Metro Wastewater Reclamation District and a former Aurora alderman. He also previously worked at the city of Aurora, most notably as Irvin's deputy mayor from 2017 to 2020. Another former city employee on the transition team is Ray Hull, who spent 36 years working at the city of Aurora's Water and Sewer Maintenance Division and in the most recent past election led an unsuccessful campaign for 1st Ward alderman. He also previously served on the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education and is a former labor leader. Also announced for Laesch's transition committee is Nicholas Richard-Thompson, another former city employee. He is now the director of communications at the Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative, the Midwest regional organizer for Black Alliance for Peace and a member of the boards of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, Aurora Mutual Aid, Simply Destinee and Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry. Michelle Velazquez, a current Aurora fire inspector and former labor leader, was also announced to be on the transition committee. Laesch's transition team also includes Casildo 'Casey' Cuevas, who is the chair of Working Families Aurora, a PAC that supported Laesch, Larson and other candidates in the past election. Cuevas is also the founder and vice president of non-profit UNI2, bilingual community service director for state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and immigration chair of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, according to the news release. Ed Mullen, an attorney who represented Laesch in a challenge to his petition for mayoral candidacy, is another of the announced transition team members. Others on the transition team are active community members, including Salek Khalid, an advocate for immigrant and refugee rights as well as Muslim civic engagement who currently serves as program manager for immigrant justice partnerships at The Resurrection Project. Nicole Mullins, founder and president of L.I.F.T. Aurora (Culture Stock) and community care unit supervisor at Senior Services Associates, was also announced for Laesch's transition team. So was Ram Tyagi, who has over 25 years of experience in the tech industry and management, currently serves as treasurer of his Homeowners Association Board and is a board member of LibraryCreate, a nonprofit focused on youth empowerment, literacy, and community service, according to the news release. Rounding out the transition committee is Christina Whitty, who the release said has over 36 years of leadership in conducting financial and risk control analysis and document assessments. There are also ongoing efforts to add additional members to the transition team, Laesch's news release said.
Chicago Tribune
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Social workers in Aurora can feel the anxiety of the immigrant community: ‘The level of fear is heartbreaking'
It's hard for most of us to wrap our heads around the level of anxiety and fear that's hit so many immigrants in our communities. I've spoken to enough people who work with this population to know mistrust is running rampant since Donald Trump moved into the White House with a series of moves targeting this population One undocumented immigrant who has lived here decades and is fully integrated into the schools, churches and neighborhoods, says he now looks with suspicion on those once considered neighbors and even friends. Whether perceived or real, fear is a powerful emotion. And Aurora area social workers have also been feeling more stress as they try to keep up with headlines that change from day to day. 'It really hit me: I can't mess this up,' said Katie Arko, executive director of Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry. 'These people's lives depend on the pantry every week.' Since Trump's executive orders, she added, 'a tremendous amount of time' has been spent 'so we can be as prepared as possible,' which includes 'watching the numbers closely.' While visitors to the pantry have 'generally been holding steady,' Arko noted an uptick in Friday's newly-added curbside option, which allows clients to stay in their cars rather than go into the building. And there's been an even more significant rise in Interfaith's 'Pantry-to-go' program which provides home deliveries. At Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora, Executive Director Annette Johnson points to a 13% increase in visitors, which she says is likely connected to the fact only a pick-up system is being used currently at the Highland Avenue headquarters. 'Our guests just feel safer in their cars,' she said. And in their homes. What has 'really caught us off guard,' Johnson said, are the swelled numbers at East Aurora High School's satellite pantry, particularly on Kids Day, when youngsters can pick up bags of groceries for their families every other Thursday. Two weeks ago, 'we had to turn kids away for the first time,' she said. But this week was even 'more remarkable,' she pointed out, with numbers jumping from 80 or so to more than 180. 'We tried to keep up but the kids kept coming,' Johnson said, which resulted in more staff coming to help students from the district's Transitions Program, who pack groceries in bags and unload and sort incoming donations. There's no question 'some are afraid to come out in public,' Arko agreed, noting that, after holding steady at 75 students served a week, Interfaith's satellite pantry at Jefferson Middle School took a sudden jump to about 100. 'The level of fear is heartbreaking. Their lives are difficult enough without making it more difficult,' she said. 'Imagine what this is doing to their mental health.' Eric Ward, executive director of Family Counseling Services, doesn't have to. 'Every Latino staff person for the last two weeks has been working with parents who are scared,' he told me. 'And that is taking away from our mission' of helping them 'navigate mental health challenges.' But Ward puts much of the blame on too many people 'listening to rumors from 10 different sources,' including social media and mainstream media that are agenda-driven. Ward says he's telling his staff to stay away from those rumors and innuendos, as well as the politics behind them. 'Clients are calling our staff asking if they should send their kids to school because ICE will take them out,' he said. 'I tell them that's not how it works. We are a nonprofit. Can you imagine the optics of breaking into a mental health agency and removing children? 'This is what rhetoric does to people who don't have the means to access truth. It stokes worry and fear.' Which is why, he added, 'the most important thing we can do is help them with a reality check.' That's what the office of state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, has been working hard to do after a barrage of phone calls from terrified individuals. While things 'have calmed down' to a degree, anxiety and mistrust will continue to impact immigrant communities, she said. As well as those who help them. Arko says Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry is receiving weekly requests from churches and other nonprofits serving mostly Hispanic bases, seeking food for families afraid to go into public places, including pantries,. And so, 'we are working on formalizing a plan to do our best to help these families,' she said, while 'ensuring we are not taking away' from their regular visitors. 'We are just one tiny little corner of the world, and think about how much time we have spent making sure we can pivot if needed,' she said. 'Imagine all the other nonprofits and what they are doing.' Sometimes discouraged but always determined, Arko can't help but compare the current narrative shaping our country's storyline to a bad movie. 'Unfortunately, we can't walk out,' she said. 'Or ask for a refund.'
