4 Candidates Vie For Buffalo Grove Village Board: 2025 Election

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — Three four-year trustee seats and one two-year trustee seat on the Buffalo Grove Village Board will be up for election in April, according to the Village. The 2025 Consolidated Election will take place on Tuesday, April 1.

Current trustees Joanne Johnson, Lester Ottenheimer and Denice Bocek are all running for reelection, while Paulette Greenberg will be on the ballot to gain a seat. The term is four years.

Kevin Richards, who is vice chair of the village's planning and zoning commission, is running unopposed for a two-year seat on the board. In 2023, former Trustee Gregory Pike resigned from the board as he moved, and Bocek is finishing out the first two years of the term.

Ahead of the election, Buffalo Grove Patch provided questionnaires to the candidates for the four-year seat.

Johnson, who is retired, worked in marketing communications for nonprofits in various capacities. She has been on the Village Board since 2015.

"One of the most pressing issues facing our village is the financial strain caused by unfunded state mandates," Johnson said in her Patch questionnaire. "Over the years, our share of state income tax has been reduced, while new legislative requirements continue to put pressure on our local budget."

Ottenheimer has been a practicing attorney for more than 40 years and is a managing member of Ottenheimer Law Group, LLC. He has been on the Village Board since 2011.

"The current path which the Village is taking for commercial and residential development is working," Ottenheimer said in his Patch questionnaire. "We have established outstanding relationships with both residential and commercial developers as well as industrial developers, which have encouraged them to develop residential and commercial projects in the Village."

Bocek has more than 30 years of work experience in commercial real estate development and construction. She has been a member of the Village Board since 2023.

"I have a proven 30-year track record in Buffalo Grove of being an active member of our community," Bocek said in her Patch questionnaire. "In my roles as a Trustee, member of the VBG Plan Commission and an advocate for animals, I have shown my ability to be a leader in our community. I pride myself in being an honest person and an advocate for our community and taxpayers."

Greenberg is a retired insurance adjuster and part-time drivers' education instructor.

"Residents want affordable housing, especially for seniors who wish to downsize from their current homes," Greenberg said in her Patch questionnaire. "Residents want the local shopping centers to improve parking lots and sidewalk areas. Residents want empty storefronts to hold businesses or be reinvented for different use. This may involve changing building codes, which I plan to follow up on."

RELATED: Buffalo Grove Candidates File For 2025 Consolidated Election