Election night wrapped up in Mundelein on April 6 with a commanding victory for Mayor Steve Lentz, who was reelected for a third term. Winning by almost 500 votes in the mayoral election, Lentz finished ahead of Trustees Robin Meier and Dawn Abernathy as well as District 120 School Board Member Thomas Ouimet.

Lentz described election night by saying, “Election night as a candidate is one of the most anxiety-ridden experiences anyone can experience. Months of hard work comes down to a few hours of election returns. Upon learning of my victory, the initial reaction was huge relief and joy that the campaign was over.”

Lentz started his work in Mundelein by volunteering in numerous youth sports leagues and then serving one term as a trustee.

Senior Trey Baker, who has worked with Mayor Lentz, said he was pleased with the election results.

“I was excited and ready to continue expanding upon our current collaboration as partners to address the shared values and vision we have to reimagine the areas we feel the town of Mundelein can continue to become stronger in,” Baker said.

Baker added what he would like to see in Lentz’s next term as Mayor.

“In the next four years, I would like to see a stronger partnership between the Village and MHS to involve student voice and collaboration on policies and issues that impact our youth directly within the community,” Baker said. “This initiative will empower students’ voices and ensure the stories and perspectives of our youth are valued in advancing the culture of the Mundelein community.”

On the topic of youth development, Baker expanded on his ideas.

“I would like to see expansion of our current initiatives with the Village and MHS to collaborate on a plan to ensure that all young people have the tools and opportunities to enter the workforce successfully,” Baker said, who concluded by stating, “When we invest in youth employment, we are investing in the community of Mundelein.”

Sol Cabachuela, recently elected as a Mundelein trustee for her first term, said that she would like to see Mundelein “really embrace our diverse community.”
“We talk about it all the time, but to me, embracing our diverse community means reaching out and giving ALL of our residents a voice,” Cabachuela said. “To accomplish that, we need to include different groups of people in focus groups and make sure we explore different communication platforms to ensure we are reaching out to everyone.”

Cabachuela has worked with Lentz in the past when she served two terms as a village clerk.

Both Baker and Cabachuela expressed the need for the community to work together to see a positive impact on Mundelein.

“I believe the community is eager to work with our mayor and the Village of Mundelein to address current issues that face our community and expand upon positive action steps moving forward that promote meaningful change,” Baker said.

Cabachuela gave an example of how new people working together within the community can promote effective change.

“I think what’s most important is that we have a completely new board that will work with Mayor Lentz,” Cabachuela said. “That means new and different ideas. While I may not totally agree with Mayor Lentz on different topics, I know I can have a conversation with him and talk about our opinions.”

Lentz said he is “ excited to work with [the] three new trustees.”

“All are volunteer-minded and seem to be in this to serve Mundelein and not just to scratch a political itch,” Lentz said. “I’m confident we will have a very good board.”

The board in Mundelein will now consist of Lentz as mayor with new trustees Tim Wilson, Jenny Ross and Sol Cabachuela, and Karen Walsh.