As municipalities in the Fox Valley cope with lower tax revenues and high unemployment, voters on Tuesday will decide who will lead the region through the economic crisis.

Residents of Carpentersville, East Dundee, Fox River Grove and Gilberts will all cast their votes in contested races for village president on Tuesday in races that have often focused on which candidate would do more to help the ailing local economy.

Three men are vying for the top Carpentersville post: Village President Bill Sarto, Trustee Ed Ritter and local business owner Jim Krenz.

Krenz and Ritter have pledged to bring a new leadership style to the village and restore unity to the village board - in a barely veiled critique of Sarto's leadership.

Sarto has said the village's image problem is not with its leader but with some trustees who have focused on fighting illegal immigration.

East Dundee residents will decide a two-man race for village president that pits incumbent Dan O'Leary against his predecessor, Jerry Bartels.

O'Leary has said he would close a budget deficit by cutting personnel costs, while Bartels has said those changes would hurt village services.

Three candidates Â*- Suzanne Blohm, Robert Nunamaker and Paulette Pelletier - are running for Fox River Grove village president, a post that has been filled on an interim basis since the death of Kay Laube in September.

The three hopefuls have clashed over how to retain police officers and over Village Administrator Art Osten's management style.

In Gilberts, Village President Tom Wajda faces a challenge from Rick Zirk, South Elgin's former village president.

Zirk has proposed incentives to attract businesses to Gilberts, while Wajda says village leaders are already working hard to draw business.

Tuesday is also a big day in Elgin, where 10 people are seeking three, 4-year city council terms. Incumbents Robert Gilliam, Juan Figueroa and John Walters face challenges from Richard Dunne, Shane Nowak, Brenda Harris Khan, John Prigge, Linda Quezada, Lenora Scruggs and Bruce Trego.

Four people hope to fill an unexpired, two-year term in Elgin: Emi Morales, Mike Robins, Brenda Rodgers and Mike Warren.

If Elgin-area voters approve a tax hike for Elgin Community College, ECC plans to expand its library and student resource center and erect a new facility for its nursing program and a facility to train people to be police officers and firefighters. If the increase passes, annual taxes for the owner of a $200,000 home will go up by about $23, according to the college. Three years ago, ECC voters shot down a tax increase that asked voters for nearly $5 million more per year.

In Elgin Area School District U-46, six people are vying for three seats. Incumbents Joyce Fountain, Dale Spencer and Donna Smith hope to win re-election, while Kevin Echevarria, Gary Percy and Ed Stade are trying to unseat them.

The district recently laid off 348 employees to help plug an $17 million deficit for the coming year and is in a costly, class-action discrimination lawsuit that stemmed from redrawing school boundaries.

Negotiating a new teachers contract will be at the top of the agenda when the new school board in Community Unit District 300 is seated.

Six candidates are seeking three board seats: incumbents Anne Miller and Karen Roeckner and challengers Dave Alessio, Dorota Jordan, Rob Lee and Tracey Perez.

While all the candidates support limiting increases in teacher salaries and benefits, only two - Lee and Roeckner - said negotiations should be open to the public
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