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Name: Vicki Johnson
What office are you seeking? 4th Ward Alderwoman
What is your political party? Independent
What is your current age? 55
Occupation and employer: Retired Educator / Administrator
What offices, if any, have you previously held? I am currently finishing up serving my first elected term. I was appointed to be the 4th ward alderperson in 2020 after Bill Hunt moved out of Mendota.
City: Mendota, IL
Campaign Website: NA
Education: 1989 - Graduated with an Associates in Arts from Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, 1991 - Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Illinois State University in Normal, IL, 1999 - Graduated with a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Illinois State University in Normal, IL, 2014 - Received my ESL (English as a Second Language) Endorsement from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL
Community Involvement: I am a member of the following community groups / organizations:
Member of the Women of the Moose Chapter 1567, Member of the Elk’s Lodge 1212, Member of the Veterans of Foreign War Auxiliary, Member of the LaSalle County Retired Teachers Association. I’m also a proud member of Reimagine Mendota. Currently I serve as their secretary and have been very involved in all of their events. I joined Reimagine Mendota to represent the City of Mendota a little over 5 years ago. In those 5 years I’ve helped bring street dances to our downtown, organized and helped run Food Truck MAINia, helped put on a fundraiser for the Raising the Depot mural, and so much more. This group is very dedicated to supporting the beautification and revitalization of our city, especially our downtown.
Marital status/Immediate family: I am a mother to one son. Jarred lives in Mendota with his wife Alyson and their two children, Anthony and Jaxson.
Questions:
What are your plans to make sure residents have satisfactory and economical places to live?
I think the city is on the right track with making sure of this. We have recently revised our permitting process and hired our own building / code inspector. We really didn’t have a strong process in place and now are on the right track. We continue to make changes for the better of our community and I look forward to more changes to be made to assist in making sure our housing market meets the needs of our community.
What are your plans to drive more businesses to town?
Since COVID, businesses have changed and it requires more than just having a space. We need to have ways to draw more people to our downtown like events and amenities. The city is continuing to work on how we can increase the amenities and through Reimagine Mendota, The Chamber of Commerce and the city, we are bringing more events to our downtown area. The city is also working on the aesthetics of our community. We are striving to make our community a welcoming place for businesses and their employees. Currently the city is hosting a series of sessions to support business set-up, marketing, and customer engagement.
What are your plans to fix the aesthetic and functionality of the downtown?
The city offers a grant / loan that businesses can apply for to better the facade of their building. It is called the Historic Preservation TIF Grant / Loan Program for Facades. The business can get a matching grant for up to $7000 or a loan up to $10, 000 to help improve the facade of their building. We have several businesses that have taken advantage of this grant / loan program. The city is continuing to work hard on creating space in our downtown for people to showcase their business ideas and gather together. We also are working with current businesses that do not have active retail stores to get business in their buildings. Finally, the city just received a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant which will help us bring murals and more dolor to our downtown.
What are your plans to combat brain drain and encourage high school graduates to stay in the area?
I think it is important to make connections with them and try to provide opportunities for them to get involved locally. In being part of Reimagine Mendota, we do this! During the Community Heart and Soul process, we talked with our high schoolers and gathered input from them about our community. We’ve shown them that their input is valuable and have discussed many things they have shared with us. Through a grant, the city has a program that provides activities for early out days and has just launched a leadership program for Middle School and High School students. This has really shown a sense of togetherness and belonging. I think the more we do while they are in high school to make them feel heard and seen, we will see many want to stay and be a part of our changing community.
What are your ideas on how to bring more supermarket choices to town?
I have heard and talked to many residents that would love to see an Aldi’s in Mendota. We used to have a Save A Lot and this would be welcomed back as well. The city reached out to Aldi’s corporation years ago about the possibility of bringing Aldi’s to our community and recently, we reached out again. We’ve been told that our population doesn’t meet the requirements to build in our community. Besides our large supermarket Sullivan’s, we do have three other markets in the community with a focus on our Hispanic population. These three smaller markets are used by all Mendota residents. For a small town we are fortunate to have the grocery stores / market that we have but would welcome another supermarket if they chose to come to Mendota.
Following the closure of IVCH and St. Margaret’s, what are your plans to make sure that doesn’t happen in Mendota?
OSF Healthcare is a healthcare system that includes 17 hospitals in Illinois and Michigan. Mendota is one of these 17 hospitals as it became OSF Saint Paul Medical Center in 2015. I think becoming part of this larger network will help us in keeping our hospital open. Our city knows that having a hospital in our rural town is valuable and will continue to focus on ensuring there is housing for staff and encouraging our community to support our local hospital.
Regionalization is important--how do you plan to work with regional agencies and government agencies that are outside of Mendota ?
The city is reaching out to these agencies to look for ways to partner with them. Our Mendota Chamber of Commerce is partnering with agencies to bring in speakers for our regional businesses. Representatives of the city are attending rural government networks to discuss opportunities on how we can share resources and talk about tourism opportunities.
What are your plans to create more unity between residents within Mendota?
As a former administrator at Mendota District #289, I strived to get everyone involved in the school setting. This took time and trust but in the end, it was amazing to see. I had parents and grandparents who didn’t speak English wanting to get involved and participate in events. It truly was amazing! This is happening in our community and I look for it to grow more each year. The city, along with Reimagine Mendota and the Hispanic Partnership Council, put on an Amigo Fest last September. What this did for our community was simply amazing! Our community felt like one and the talk of this event continues to this day. We will continue to partner with organizations and have events like this where everyone comes together and “belongs.”
How do you plan to improve the quality of life for Mendota residents?
I think you can build upon the quality of life in a community by building a sense of belonging and encouraging social interaction. One example I will share that is happening is our Food Truck MAINia that we organized and started two years ago through Reimagine Mendota. This takes place in our downtown and truly brings our community together. People gather together to enjoy a night out in our downtown, over delicious food and drinks. It gives our community something to look forward to and brings life to our downtown. Our city also supports groups such as the Library, YMCA and Mendota Area Senior Services (MASS) to ensure the amazing services that they offer are available to our residents of Mendota. The city continues to look at writing grants which will help support additional amenities that we can bring to our community and help us improve our parks, sidewalks, housing, etc.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
I think this depends on a number of factors - what are the local laws on this, what are the rights of the immigrants and what are our community values. This also needs to be a discussion as a whole by the city council.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
One part of economic development is ensuring a vibrant, welcoming community that includes green spaces and parks. By doing this, we can attract new residents and businesses to our community. Mendota is very fortunate to have great parks and we are working hard to improve them. The city has written grants and allocated dollars for this. They are also focusing on creating more vibrant areas downtown which will help with both of these factors. The city also welcomes and supports residents and businesses that are pursuing environmentally sustainable practices.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
The city of Mendota is very fortunate to have MASS (Mendota Area Senior Services) who offer non-emergency medical transportation to help seniors get to appointments, run errands and participate in activities. In addition to MASS, NCAT or North Central Area Transit, is another service that provides door-to-door transportation for residents and guests of LaSalle County. The Amtrak is another great asset for Mendota as it provides transportation to many places, one being Chicago. Residents of Mendota work in or near the city and are able to travel by train to get to their job. Finally, the city has a committee that has worked very hard on writing grants focused on improving our sidewalks and creating bike paths. This will help everyone have access to all of our great amenities within the city.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
I think the number one safety concern for our community is making sure our downtown businesses are up to code and we don’t have anymore devastating fires. This is not only for the sake of the business and our downtown area, but also our understaffed fire department. We will address this with our newly hired full-time building inspector. This will allow us to be consistent and have the capacity to ensure these buildings are up to code and safe.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
While administering the Community Heart and Soul grant, Reimagine Mendota did an amazing job of seeking input from ALL residents in Mendota. The residents were asked their input on policies, projects, activities, etc. This valuable input from our residents will help guide the city to make informed decisions and help shape the future of our city.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
Absolutely! I think requiring government officials to publicly disclose conflicts of interest is very important for transparency, as well as accountability to the city they are elected to represent. I think one key way of enforcing this would be to have mandatory ethics training for all elected officials.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I’m out in the public a lot with being part of Reimagine Mendota and volunteering for other organizations. Many people talk to me at these events. I also have my city email posted along with my personal phone number that my constituents can call if they have questions or concerns. I’m also on Facebook and I have people reach out to me through messenger with their questions and concerns. I try my best to respond quickly and if I need time to gather information, I let the constituent know an estimated timeline.