With Forest Park’s mayoral elections coming up on April 6, only Michelle Melin-Rogovin had announced her candidacy — until late last month, when Trimaine Wilson threw his hat in the ring.
Wilson has lived in Forest Park for over 25 years and owns two local businesses. He’s running for mayor to ensure residents have a voice, advocating for more transparency and financial planning among village officials.
“I have two twin boys. I plan on being here for the rest of my life, so I want to make Forest Park a place that you want to live,” Wilson said. “I want to make Forest Park the place where you want to build your business. I want to work on trying to get the budget stable. We all look for transparency about life in the village. We have not been getting that lately.”
To address the village’s $15 million deficit and help improve financial stability, Wilson would prioritize long-term budget planning, a review of village spending, and opportunities for grants and sustainable revenue.
“I’m going to look at some of the contracts that the village has, see if I can renegotiate some of the contracts, or even eliminate some of the contracts that are not beneficial to the village,” Wilson said.
And he’d push for transparent public reporting on the village’s finances.
“The mayor and the village employees work for the residents. Every decision that the village makes, the residents should know about it,” Wilson said. “I feel like residents should have a say. I feel like the village does not listen to the residents, and as mayor, I’m going to work alongside the residents.”
And as a local business owner, Wilson is uniquely positioned to work alongside other small business owners, too.
“A lot of business owners say that the village is not business friendly. And for a village to be successful, you have to have successful businesses,” Wilson said. “I know Forest Park has lost a couple business owners to a different village. I know a lot of residents may not like certain things, but we also have to take into account the business owners.”
Wilson said he’s heard complaints from restaurant and bar owners about hours of operation. If elected, he would consider policies that help businesses succeed and make village processes easier to navigate. He also mentions wanting to create events for businesses, like a Taste of Forest Park in the summer.
Another one of Wilson’s priorities is for accountable policing. He said that starts with reviewing current guidelines and training for the Forest Park Police Department to ensure police officers have the support they need.
“We’ve had a couple lawsuits that I feel like should have never happened,” Wilson said. “We should not be OK with that. We should not tolerate lawsuits. It’s basically negligence of a police officer, doing things that they should not do.”
Wilson said, as he collects the 30-some signatures he needs to get his name on the ballot in April, many Forest Park residents are complaining about how Lt. Dan Miller has been on paid administrative leave for the last five months. Miller’s investigation is wrapping up after, in April, he forcibly detained a woman while off duty.
Wilson said he’s also been asked a lot of questions about the O’Hare Flyer express train to the airport coming through Forest Park, which he does not support. He said residents need more transparency about the project and its costs, as well as independent studies of community impact.
Though Wilson said he has experience in politics from working on campaigns for Jesse Jackson, Rahm Emanuel, and most recently La Shawn Ford — who, on Tuesday, was voted the next congressman for the 7th congressional district — he spends much of his time running his two local businesses.
Wilson started Trimaine Snow Plowing & Landscaping in 2009 and still has some customers from then. He largely serves Oak Park commercial accounts, but has some resident customers too, as well as those in Forest Park, River Forest, Broadview and Chicago.
Wilson also owns Trimaine Security Solutions, where he teaches firearm instruction, plus first aid and CPR instruction.
“I’m hoping to become the next Forest Park mayor,” Wilson said. “I have the leadership and the skills that Forest Park needs, so I’m excited about it.”