Former Councilman, Mayoral Candidate Seeks to Return to City Council in 2013

Former Wheaton City Councilman and Mayoral candidate John Prendiville wants back in on local government.

Prendiville will run for his former seat as Councilman At-Large, which will open as Jeanne Ives takes office as state representative in the 42nd district.

“I enjoy being on (the) Council (and) have a lot to offer,” Prendiville said. “I think we need it—I think we need some strong leadership on (the) council.”

Prendiville lost in the 2011 mayoral race to Mike Gresk, forfeiting his seat on the Council. 

Prendiville was vocal about the proposal to build senior housing at Courthouse Square, and introduced the idea of building a public recreational center at the former Hubble school when plans for the site were still unclear.

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He said he wishes he’d been on the Council for the Courthouse Square decision to vote against Focus Development’s plan to build senior housing. 

“That site is not the best site for that type of senior housing,” he said. “The concerns of residents are valid—it does definitely change the character of the development… In the long term, the city has gone back on a promise to people… In the future, how will we be able to partner with others in other developments? Because it could be seen (that) we might back out.”

Prendiville was also a supporter of the Wheaton Grand Theater, which sold this week to a downtown property owner. “(I’m) very happy a local businessman has negotiated to buy it. I think it’s wonderful someone like Jim (Atten) is willing to invest in that and preserve it. It has historical significance to a large number of people.” 

Prendiville, a Wheaton resident for over 20 years, is a managing director and managing counsel for The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and an active father of four children. He attended the University of Notre Dame and Eastern Illinois University, where he majored in English, and received his law degree from the DePaul University College of Law.

In order to have an election for her seat in 2013, Ives must step down from City Council by Nov. 30. She said last month she plans to step down in time for an election for her seat. Filing for Ives' seat would be Dec. 17-24.  

In addition to Ives’ At-Large seat, one four-year position in each of the city’s four districts is up for election. Petition filing for the 2013 Municipal Election is Nov. 19-26 for the four council seats.

The election will be Tuesday, April 9, 2013.