Election 2013: Don Jankowski

Don Jankowski is one of six candidates running for the Downers Grove Village Council in the 2013 election. Jankowski, 58, is a professional economist with 26 years experience in the private sector. He holds a PhD in economics.

Name: Don Jankowski

Position sought: Commissioner, Downers Grove Village Council

Age: 58

Campaign website: www.donjankowski.com

Campaign email address: donaldjj@comcast.net

Family (name, relationship and age): Wife, Becky, 55. Becky is a registered nurse and the coordinator of the PAWSitive Therapy Troupe, an animal-assisted therapy program operating at hospitals, nursing homes and schools in the western suburbs.

Education (degree and school): Bachelor's degree in business administration from Marquette University; PhD in economics from Purdue University

Occupation: Professional economist. Currently works as a principal/partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.

Previous elected offices: None

Applicable experience qualifying you for the position: I have lived in Downers Grove for 26 years and know the village well. I have extensive experience with village economic development and understand the challenges and opportunities ahead. With over 26 years working in the private sector, I understand budgeting and living within your means, and I will use that experience in considering village initiatives and policies—I will not let limited special interests benefit from public taxes.

What is the primary reason you are running for this office?

I bring fresh ideas and the kind of experience that it takes to ensure that our community continues to be the finest place to live in suburban Chicago. Our quality of life depends on our ability to deliver basic services that benefit all of us. Basic public services—police and fire protection, safe and well-maintained roads, clean drinking water and sanitation and storm water management—are expensive. Lean government can keep our taxes down, but cuts can only go so far before basic services cannot be delivered. We need to find more sources of revenue to spread the tax burden over a larger base.

The way to deliver basic services without raising taxes is through economic development. I am the only candidate in this race that has extensive experience with village economic development. I understand the challenges and opportunities ahead through my years working as chairman on the Executive Board of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

Economic development is the top priority. If we do not continue to effectively promote economic development, then we will not be able to afford other priorities, such as infrastructure improvements. The village's comprehensive plan has an excellent list of underdeveloped areas that can have a catalytic impact on our community. If we stick to the plan and focus, we will succeed.

What sets you apart from the other candidates? 

I am the only candidate in this race that has extensive experience with village economic development. I understand the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I have 26 years of experience in the private sector working with multinational companies, as well as smaller private companies. My entire career is has been about determining what drives value for my clients, and that experience helps me in finding creative ways to retain our best businesses and attract new quality businesses to Downers Grove.

How long have you lived in Downers Grove and/or been active in local issues? 

I have lived in Downers Grove for 26 years, and I have actively worked on the DGEDC Board for the past seven. I have served in two different capacities on the Immanuel Lutheran Church Council—one as secretary, and the other as vice president.

Since the 1990s, I have spent considerable volunteer time visiting nursing homes (Fairview Baptist Home/Oak Trace among others) and hospitals (Hines VA Hospital, Loyola) with one of my three registered therapy dogs with the PAWSitive Therapy Troupe. In addition to these visits, I have participated in a bi-annual rendition of "the Nutcracker," performed entirely by the Troupe's dogs as a fundraiser to cover expenses, such as printing "dog trading cards" for kids (completed 2012 performances at Herrick Middle School Nov. 17 and 18—I had the only human part because none of the other husbands would do it).

My wife and I are avid gardeners—our gardens have been featured on the Downers Grove Women's Garden Club house and garden walk in 2004 (a charity fundraiser), and our love of gardening has us both interested in getting closer to our source of food—we grow great vegetables—and promoting a clean, more sustainable environment.

What's your favorite thing about Downers Grove? 

I really like the small town feel with all of the festivals, concerts and street markets that come throughout the year. And I only need to walk a couple of blocks from my home to be in the woods at Maple Grove Forest preserve. Our downtown lends itself to community events. In December 2012, Forbes Magazine named our community the eighth friendliest town in the United States—they found many of the things that I like to be factors in making their determination.

What is the biggest challenge facing Downers Grove?

Except on parts of Ogden Avenue (at Lee and near I-355) and the corridor along Finley Road, we have no large, vacant parcels of land for development. We need to redevelop areas that are currently underdeveloped. One area for redevelopment that could have a catalytic effect on surrounding property redevelopment is in Ellsworth Industrial Park. This is the village's largest concentration of industrial land and an economic generator for Downers Grove. Ellsworth Industrial Park has a great location, but its redevelopment has been hampered by the presence of a hazardous pollutant that has affected groundwater—it is a "brownfield" site. There are ways to mitigate the environmental issue that Ellsworth has had for many years, but any mitigation needs to be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That approval would remove uncertainty of current and future businesses located there, and allow for new investment without fear of environmental repercussions. We need to work with our U.S. representatives and senators to move EPA forward, which would allow Downers Grove to move forward. I consider working with the federal government and getting approval from the EPA to be a very big challenge.

Related Pages:

• Election 2013: Downers Grove Village Council 
• Election 2013: Robert "Bob" Barnett
• Election 2013: Marilyn J. Schnell
• Election 2013: David S. Olsen
• Election 2013: Susan Walaszek
• Election 2013: Greg Hosé

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