Will White, executive director of the College of Lake County’s Career and Job Placement Center, has been chosen to fill the vacant Aurora alderman at-large position.
One of the two alderman at-large seats on the Aurora City Council was left vacant when John Laesch, who used to hold the position, was elected to be the city’s next mayor earlier this year. White, who is a 6th Ward resident, was appointed to the vacant seat by Laesch and approved by the City Council at its meeting Tuesday.
“I’m very humble and blessed,” White told The Beacon-News on Wednesday. “I look to learn from those who are already alderpeople, and I’d like to see how I can best lend my services to the cause of moving Aurora forward.”
In a news release from the city, Laesch said White will bring a “new and unique perspective to the Aurora City Council” along with his “impressive background” in finance, government and “building a local food economy.”
When asked about his unique perspective, White said he will bring best practices in attracting businesses as well as supporting economic development and workforce development, since that is what he does in Lake County.
White’s current role at the College of Lake County has him managing a multi-million dollar budget to train students for employment in their community, his new alderman profile on the city of Aurora website says.
Previously, White worked as a small business consultant at the University of New Orleans, developed and ran an entrepreneurial training program through Cincinnati State and the city of Cincinnati and, most recently, led economic development initiatives in the Chicago and Northern Illinois areas, according to his alderman profile. He also has financial experience both as a financial analyst for Procter & Gamble and as an auditor for the Department of Defense, a news release said.
White is active in the Lake County community in ways beyond just his job: he is a board member for the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Rotary Club in Grayslake and supports the Urban Farm Center in Waukegan along with other nonprofits in the county, according to his profile.
Plus, he is a doctoral candidate at Morgan State University where he is studying the “impact of innovative auxiliary funding streams on community college budgeting and student success,” a city news release said.
When asked by The Beacon-News about what his priorities will be on the Aurora City Council, White said they have been somewhat handed to him, as he was appointed to the Aurora City Council’s Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee. But that appointment works with both his experience and his want to make sure Aurora has a vibrant community, he said.
White wants to make sure that local businesses are supported but also that Aurora is somewhere new employers will want to move and that residents have affordable places to live, he said.
In addition to being appointed to the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, White was also appointed to the Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee.
While his top priority will be his committee assignments, White said education has been his lifelong passion and work, whether it is in volunteer or professional roles.
“I really believe that quality, equitable education is one of the pillars for a vibrant, successful community from elementary up through post-secondary and higher ed,” he said. “I want to ensure that quality education from start to finish is available for all of residents, and that is my personal passion.”
White said he applied to fill the alderman at-large seat because he was looking for ways to offer his skills and experience working with policy makers, industry and small businesses, with a focus on economic and workforce development, to help build a vibrant community in Aurora.
The city received a total of 135 applications for the vacant alderman at-large seat by the deadline, and many more after the deadline, Laesch said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. City staff helped to narrow those applications down to 14 people who were brought in for interviews, he said, and that number was further narrowed down to four candidates.
Laesch brought those four candidates before the Aurora City Council to be interviewed in closed session on Tuesday. After nearly two hours of closed-door discussions, the Aurora City Council appeared to reach a consensus, unanimously approving White’s appointment.
Although White was technically sworn in Tuesday night, a ceremonial swearing-in is set to take place at the June 3 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. He will now serve out the remaining two years of the four-year term Laesch was elected to when he won the alderman at-large race in 2023.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com