About Mario J. VanDerHeyden

Biographical data and questions and answers from St. Charles aldermanic candidate Mario J. VanDerHeyden.

Name: Mario J. VanDerHeyden Position sought: City of St. Charles 3rd Ward Alderman Campaign contact information: mariovanderheyden@yahoo.com Ward 3, St. Charles, IL 60174 What will be your single most important priority if you get elected? The consensus I personally extracted through one on one conversation’s over several months of walking and driving through our community revealed these three main issues: Home address: Ward 3, St. Charles, IL 60174 Family members: Wife Amanda VanDerHeyden Daughter Gabriella VanDerHeyden 3 Daughter Noelle VanDerHeyden 1 Education: St. Charles High School 1991 Northern Illinois University College of Business 1997 B.S. operations management information systems (OMIS) Minor economics Current occupation and …

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St. Charles Residents’ Group Mayoral Forum Is Tonight

Candidates to have time to introduce themselves, respond to questions during session at the Baker Community Center.

Stein, Rabchuk: Rogina's Downtown St. Charles Plan Not Enough

Mayoral candidates tout own economic development plans after praises focus on Arcada but says Rogina’s vision for downtown is a good start.

St. Charles mayoral candidates Jotham Stein and John Rabchuk on Monday each responded to 3rd Ward Alderman Ray Rogina’s vision for downtown renewal, with Stein saying the plan does not go far enough and Rabchuk saying he is the only candidate with a comprehensive economic development plan. “The Arcada Theatre (105 E. Main St.) is a fantastic source of culture and entertainment and building on the Arcada’s accomplishments will certainly help our downtown grow,” Stein said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. “The more the Arcada offers quality shows that people want to see, the more vital our downtown will be and the more tax revenue the city will collect. “To the extent Mr. Rogina’s plan works to grow downtown’s culture and …

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Rogina Outlines Vision for St. Charles Central Business District Renewal

St. Charles alderman and mayoral candidate says the Arcada’s success can be expanded upon to spark more development downtown.

Third Ward Alderman Ray Rogina on Saturday laid out his vision for renewal of the central business district in which he sees downtown St. Charles expanding from primarily an entertainment area to an area that includes an emphasis on the arts and as a zone that centers on the historic Arcada Theatre. If elected, Rogina said, he would appoint a blue-ribbon committee of civic, business and cultural leaders to develop the most efficient strategy to accomplish that goal. According to the alderman, the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St., generates $2 million annually in economic development. The Arcada’s past success can be be used to expand its offerings for residents and help spark more downtown development, Rogina said. “In conversation with …

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Stein: Enforce, Not Reform St. Charles Liquor Code

Mayoral candidate said the mayor just needs to enforce the law; Wyatt likes reform but wants questions answered.

In a city where liquor dealers already are tense over the St. Charles City Council’s stance on downtown alcohol-related problems, things could get a little more so once there’s a new sheriff — er, mayor — in town. Whether the tension does increase remains to be seen, but St. Charles’ mayoral candidates agree the city needs to draw the line more clearly and enforce the law more strictly. On one side of the line is 3rd Ward Alderman Ray Rogina, who this week proposed revamping the city’s liquor code to more clearly distinguish the difference between liquor licenses for restaurants and those for bars, to plainly delineate what penalties are in order for various infractions, and to subject 2 a.m. liquor licenses to annual approval based on an …

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David Amundson

1:01 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

Case and point. We have sold our reputation for relatively few dollars of tax revenue (a fraction of a percent of the City's annual budget). A wise professor I had in college once remarked "funny thing about reputations; you only get to sell them once." While I am not as deeply pessimistic as my professor was, he did make a very good point. We have sold our reputation, and we are now tasked with …   more ›

Rabchuk Defends Bike Hub Plan for St. Charles

Mayoral candidate thanks political opponent Rogina for correction on abandoned railway line.

St. Charles mayoral candidate John Rabchuk on Wednesday responded to his opponents’ criticisms of his plan to make the city a hub for bicyclists, even thanking 3rd Ward Alderman Ray Rogina for correcting his remarks about an abandoned rail line. “I have received tremendous support for the concept of making St. Charles a cycling hub, including many new ideas from residents that would greatly expand on my original concepts,” Rabchuk said in a release issued Wednesday. “Once elected, I intend to create a cycling commission made up of cycling enthusiasts and business leaders that can identify and review what other cycling hubs around the country have successfully implemented and then make recommendations to our city staff and council.” In …

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Rogina Pitches St. Charles Liquor Code Reforms

St. Charles alderman and candidate for mayor polishes suggestions he offered during Monday’s City Council committee meeting.

A St. Charles mayoral candidate is calling for “commonsense reforms to the liquor code” he believes will help to settle down alcohol-related problems that sparked a proposal in August to cut back the business hours for bars and taverns. Third Ward Alderman Ray Rogina on Tuesday pitched the proposals he first offered as a question and some suggestions Monday night to his fellow aldermen, who were meeting as the City Council Government Operations Committee. Rogina asked the city staff Monday night to see if there is a model — ostensibly an ordinance already in use by another community — that treats the 2 a.m. closing time as a privilege that needs to receive City Council approval year by year. Doing so, he said in a release he issued Tuesday…

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