Gia Marie Benline, your candidate for Village President, is a Fenwick High School alum. Gia earned a BA Degree in Legal Studies and is currently a Licensed Illinois Realtor and a Paralegal with over 18 years of experience. Gia is a proud Westchester resident of 10 years and embraces the community that has helped her and her husband raise their family. As Village Trustee, Gia has served the residents of Westchester with integrity, demonstrated through her transparent communication, fiscal diligence, and active community engagement. She believes these are essential components of a highly functional and responsible government — qualities she feels are currently lacking in Westchester.
Economic development is one of the most pressing challenges we face—but also one of the greatest opportunities. A strong economic foundation plays a vital role in enhancing the overall quality of life in our community. It not only attracts new residents but also improves the well-being and satisfaction of those who already call Westchester home. Supporting entrepreneurship and small business development is key to building a diverse and resilient local economy.
Thriving economic development fuels Westchester’s strength, resilience, and future potential—and it’s a goal we must actively work toward.
Finding developers and urban planners to help Westchester revisit its existing Comprehensive Plan—and then assist the Village in creating and strategizing a new one that reflects the demographics, financial realities, aspirations, and goals of our residents—is a vital step toward responsible and sustainable planning for the future.
Environmental stewardship should be a key component in Westchester’s long-term vision. It is the responsible use and protection of our environment through sustainable practices and thoughtful conservation efforts, recognizing the importance of preserving natural resources not only for the current generation but for those to come. I would love to introduce the concept of environmental stewardship to our community and provide residents with the tools and knowledge to embrace it. Initiatives such as a Zero-Waste Challenge, promoting the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle, and encouraging clean transportation are just a few ways we can raise awareness and inspire collective action.
In order to prepare for anticipated federal cuts, we must conduct comprehensive budget reviews and workshops, prioritize essential services and programs, embrace technology to boost efficiency, strengthen accountability, and consistently monitor and evaluate our financial performance. We can determine wants vs. needs at every department level.
I want Westchester to be the kind of place where people choose to move, raise their families, and eventually retire. I want it to be a vibrant destination where people come to dine, visit, and support our local businesses. I envision Westchester as a spotlight location—one where businesses want to establish a presence and grow. Our community deserves more—we should never settle for mediocre. We will get there through thoughtful planning, hard work, effective communication, and strong community involvement.
I have worked in various positions throughout my 30-year career at the Village in both entry level and management positions. Hired as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, I eventually was the director of 9-1-1, information technology manager and on two occasions was appointed the acting village manager. I have lived in the community for over 50 years with a great appreciation of what Westchester has to offer.
Having observed meetings for 20 years, I've seen what works and taking note of what has delayed progress and sought to use that knowledge to lead Westchester forward. I felt that my experience both living and working in the community will assist in leading our community forward.
The federal mandate requiring all lead water mains being replaced is a costly mandate with little known relief to the town coming in the form of grants or forgiveness loans. This mandate requires annual updates in seeking a 2044 compliance, and with Westchester’s aging infrastructure it is a discussion point regularly. The board will need to be provided professional options on how we will fund such an undertaking, currently estimated at over $50 million dollars. Discussions with County, State and Federal legislators in requesting funding assistance will need to continue to help minimize the funding impact locally. As a board, we will need to evaluate our timeline, budget and access to financial resources to decide our best path forward.
I believe finding developers is of the utmost importance. Developers have various challenges due to how the layout of business districts were prepared over 50 years ago. Seeking investment into our community requires the discussions of incentives such as Tax Incremental Financing, sales tax rebates and potential inclusion of Westchester into the West Regional Enterprise Zone. Being prepared as a board for those requests is vital to beginning the growth that could start and lead to additional partnerships as development expands. Due to a decades long stall in redevelopment, our comprehensive plan completed in 2014 would be a strong starting point until a revision occurs.
Westchester established a local “Green Residents of Westchester” (GROW) commission that seeks to identify and bring forward concepts and education on environmental issues facing the area. Additionally, the village approved working with the Cross Communities Climate Collaborative (C4) that consists of 14 communities collaborating on initiatives and working towards receiving grant funding for various projects. As with any local government, cost and impact to the budget plays a significant role in our decision-making process on projects or services beyond the core services we provide, and determining what environmentally impactful projects we could achieve is more efficient with the help from the above-named commissions.
As of this writing, the Village of Westchester is not aware of any programs or funding cuts that have been proposed that will directly impact services provided by Westchester. Indirect impacts may be discovered and felt over time, and we are preparing to determine what those are as the proposed cuts are announced. The reduction or removal of federal funding for infrastructure is of greatest immediate concern but has yet to be communicated to us, as various projects within our community rely on these funds to complete this work.
Long-term I am seeking to continue on the path of creating a thriving, inclusive and sustainable community where families feel safe, where businesses flourish and residents have access local access to all of the services that they require.
Working closely with the board to focus on those goals is of top priority.
