Riverside Community Alliance

Riverside Community Alliance
Announces Slate for
April 7, 2009 Riverside Village Board Elections

The Riverside Community Alliance (RCA) today announced their slate for Riverside’s 2009 Village Board elections:

President: Michael C. Gorman
Trustee: James D. Reynolds
Trustee: Lonnie R. Sacchi
Trustee: Mark D. Shevitz

These candidates bring a wealth of business, financial and management experience coupled with long-standing community involvement. They pledge to bring positive change and progress to Riverside by addressing head-on the main issues confronting the village after decades of one-party domination of Riverside government by the Riverside Caucus.

RCA was originally formed as a community group in 2007 to provide Riverside residents with a voice in village issues. Gorman sees the RCA ticket as a continuation of that purpose.

“We are running to provide Riverside with a real choice in village leadership. Our focus is on four areas: fiscal responsibility, sensible development in Riverside’s business districts, open and transparent village government and strengthening our sense of community. These are all issues that we feel can be improved in Riverside, and we think that RCA has the right plans to make significant progress in these areas.”

Some of the initiatives that the RCA promises to pursue, if elected, include:
• Undertaking a top-down budget analysis aimed at providing better services at a lower cost to residents
• Putting the village checkbook, Village Board materials and videos of Village Board meetings online for public review
• As funds allow, hiring a director of business development with experience in leveraging the heritage of a historic community to attract new businesses and food establishments to our village
• Creating more opportunities for the community to come together — in village governance, commerce, and recreation

“We want to give Riverside residents a smarter alternative to the virtual one-party rule of the Caucus that we’ve had in the village for so long,” said Shevitz. “We want to bring some fresh ideas to the table. We think Riverside can do better than TIFs and taxes, and that’s why we’re excited to be running. We look forward to talking with residents about our plans to create a stronger Riverside.”

Gorman, Reynolds, Sacchi and Shevitz were all active in rallying Riverside residents to vote down the proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in April 2007 and the November 2008 property tax increase.

For more information, visit the RCA’s website, RiversideCommunityAlliance.blogspot.com or call (708) 442-3166.

Michael C. Gorman, 57, has been a Riverside resident since 1979. He is both an Attorney and CPA and has practiced for the majority of his career as Corporate Legal Counsel. In 2007, he served as a member of Riverside’s Long Term Finance Committee. Gorman holds a B.A. from Western Illinois University and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Mike and his wife, Linda, have three children who all attended Riverside public schools.

James D. Reynolds, 63, has been a resident of Riverside for the last 15 years. He is the CEO of Father Time Antiques, Inc., the Midwest’s largest restorer and retailer of vintage and antique timepieces, and the CEO of Segway of Chicago. Jim has served as President of the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside for the last three years. He holds an Associate of Arts degree from Wright College, and a B.S. degree from Southern Illinois University. He and his wife Chandra have a daughter, Aria, who is a mechanical engineering student at MIT, and a son, Preston, who is currently a senior at Riverside-Brookfield H.S

Lonnie R. Sacchi, 59, has been a Riverside resident for 25 years. After establishing and serving as Vice President of Access Automotive, he transitioned his career into commercial and residential real estate investment and today owns and manages apartments. Lonnie has served on the board of directors and as president of the Olmsted Society. He also occasionally contributes articles to the Landmark Newspaper. Sacchi has a B.A. in history from Loyola University and has continued his educational studies with multiple seminars at the Newberry Library.

Mark D. Shevitz, 39, is a ten year resident of Riverside. He is the Senior Brand Strategist at Movéo Integrated Branding. He has served on the board of the Frederick Law Olmsted Society and owned a marketing communications business based in Riverside. Shevitz is a graduate of Colgate University. He and his wife have a son at Riverside Presbyterian Preschool.

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