Hodgkinson, Kelly, Schobel Elected to Park District Board

Incumbents John Kelly and Mark Schobel and newcomer Jane Hodgkinson have won the 2013 election to the Wheaton Park District board of commissioners.

With all precincts reporting, Hodgkinson finished first with 4,602 votes, followed by John Kelly with 4,166 votes and Mark Schobel with 3,997 votes. 

Jane Hodgkinson will bring 30 years of experience as the executive director of the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA). She said Tuesday, "I'm very honored that I was elected to the Wheaton Park District... I still contend it's one of the best park districts in the U.S. and I'm looking forward to being a part of that."

She said in her Patch bio the main reason she ran for the board was to see the Hubble property (gymnasium and open space) completed and operational.

"This area will become a changed gateway into Wheaton. We must improve our parking for this area while maintaining the flood control value of the open space," she said. 

She said her top priority on the board would be working with other board members and staff, "to use our financial resources as wisely as possible while caring for our infrastructure needs of the district."

Hodgkinson has a B.S. and M.S. in Education (emphasis in Recreation for Special Populations) from SIU Carbondale. She lives in Wheaton with her husband, Patrick Cleary, and has two sons, John, 26 and Mike, 25.

John Kelly, the sitting president on the board, said in his bio he ran for re-election because, after 20 years of involvement with the park district, he believes it is one of the best in the country and feels the district has improved the quality of life for Wheaton families and residents. 

"I would like to see it continue its excellent work in the community," he said. 

"I believe the Wheaton Park District is currently in a strong financial position. Our biggest challenge moving forward will be balancing the costs of maintaining our aging facilities with our desires to move forward on new projects. I would like to continue to work with staff to make sure our facilities are maintained the best we can and that we continue to budget and prepare for major capital projects we know are coming."

Kelly has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Illinois. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois and President of b. Stromberg Construction Co., Inc., a midsize general contractor and construction management firm working in the Chicago area. 

He lives in Wheaton with his wife, Cheryll and has four kids, ages 19-27.

Mark Schobel, vice president at Job Search Television Network, has a B.A. from North Central College. He lives in Wheaton with his wife, Rebecca, and has two daughters.

He said the main reason he was running for re-election to serve his community, "and strive to make the district excel and better itself at every opportunity."

He said his top priority would be to "maintain fiscal responsibility in all manners of our operations within the Park District. Encouraging our staff to continue to seek alternative sources of revenue, through Grants, donations, revenue producing facilities and programs, etc. Currently the taxpayers’ contributions to the District represent approximately 41 percent of the District's budget."

The park district will officially join the board at the May meeting.

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