Randall White Outlines Mayoral Vision for Park Forest, Focusing on Taxes, Business Growth and Leadership (Park Forest, IL) — Park Forest Trustee Randall White is making his case for the mayor’s office around a straightforward message: residents need relief from high property taxes, businesses need a stronger partner in Village Hall, and local government needs a more responsive approach to problems facing the community.
White, a lifelong Park Forest resident who was elected to the Village Board in 2023, is seeking the office of Village President in the April 6, 2027 consolidated election.
In an interview with the Chicagoland Journal, White laid out a platform centered on property-tax relief, economic development, infrastructure investment and what he described as a more flexible and service-oriented style of leadership.
The race would put White in direct competition for the office currently held by Mayor Joseph A. Woods, who was elected in 2023 after previously serving four years as a Village trustee. Candidate filing for the 2027 municipal election does not take place until Nov. 16 through Nov. 23, meaning the official ballot has not yet been finalized.
Leadership and the fallout from a downtown confrontation
Some of White’s strongest comments came when he was asked how his leadership style would differ from what residents have seen from the current administration.
White said elected officials should avoid entering disputes with a predetermined approach.
“I believe as a leader, styles need to adapt and need to change per situation,” White said. “I don’t think that you should ever enter into a situation with a fixed mindset. I think every situation is different.”
The question carried added significance because of a controversial August 2024 confrontation involving Woods in Downtown Park Forest.
White referred to the episode during the interview as the “restaurant” situation and said he became involved after business owners contacted him.
“The situation with the restaurant is unfortunate, and it shouldn’t have took place in the first place,” White said.
He argued that elected officials must remember that their authority comes with a responsibility to residents and businesses, particularly during disagreements.
“We’re not here for our personal agenda. We’re not here to lash out when we disagree,” White said. “We’re here to sit down at the table and say we’re the voice for the people.”
White said the incident also raises a larger question about the relationship between Village government and the business community.
“We want our business owners to thrive. We want our residents to thrive,” he said. “The only way that we can do that is to be supportive and not divisive.”
A push to fill storefronts
Economic development would be another major focus of a White administration.
White said he wants Park Forest to become more aggressive about filling available commercial space, particularly in Downtown Park Forest, while also paying more attention to corridors along Lincoln Highway, Western Avenue and Sauk Trail.
His proposals include offering Village businesses free advertising on municipal websites and electronic signs and incorporating local-business promotions into communications already being sent to residents.
“Nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” White said. “When you don’t have anything, the objective is to get something in that best suits the community.”
White said the Village should be willing to offer meaningful incentives to attract businesses and help existing merchants succeed rather than focusing only on collecting fees.
His emphasis on commercial growth comes as Park Forest continues looking for ways to reduce its dependence on property taxes. Earlier this year, the Village approved a 1% home-rule sales tax increase. Village Manager Jon Kindseth said at the time that roughly 50 to 55% of the Village budget was coming from property taxes and that expanding other revenue sources could help reduce that dependence.
White calls property taxes a “crisis”
No issue appeared to animate White more during the interview than property taxes.
White said one of his first actions as mayor would be asking the Village Board to formally recognize Park Forest’s property-tax situation as a crisis.
Within his first 100 days, he said, he would seek to create a team specifically focused on finding ways to reduce the burden on homeowners.
“I don’t want to hear that we haven’t raised your taxes in the last couple of years,” White said. “Talk to me about how we can reduce your taxes.”
White proposed bringing together school districts, municipal officials, state legislators, assessors and other taxing bodies for what he called a “tax relief summit.”
He also said every taxing body serving Park Forest should be willing to examine its spending.
“We would look at the Village. We would say, ‘Hey, we don’t need this much. Where can we cut some of the fat, where we can get leaner and keep the basic core operations, like the police, like the fire, like the programming, but also save the residents?'” White said.
Park Forest itself has acknowledged the unusually high tax rates facing the community. Village materials have attributed those rates in part to comparatively low assessed property values and a large number of exemptions, saying those factors have historically pushed the community’s tax rates to among the highest in Illinois.
Aging infrastructure another priority
White also said aging water, drainage and other infrastructure must be addressed without simply passing additional costs on to taxpayers.
He pointed to recent storms and flooding as evidence that sections of the Village’s infrastructure require significant attention.
“We have an infrastructure issue,” White said. “Park Forest is aging.”
His proposal would rely heavily on assembling staff and outside experts who specialize in securing state and federal infrastructure grants.
The underlying infrastructure problem is well documented. Village budget documents say much of Park Forest’s infrastructure is more than 65 years old and that older cast-iron water pipes have experienced significant deterioration. Village officials have also estimated roughly 120 water-main breaks annually.
Park Forest has already secured outside funding for some of that work, including a $1.54 million Illinois Environmental Protection Agency grant for water-main replacement projects and additional federal assistance for infrastructure work.
White said he wants to expand that approach rather than rely primarily on local taxpayers to pay for repairs.
Pointing to his record as trustee
Asked why voters should choose him, White pointed to his involvement in several high-profile community issues.
He cited problems at the Autumn Ridge apartment complex, where residents have faced periods without functioning heat or air conditioning, and said he worked directly with residents seeking relief.
White had been fielding resident complaints at Autumn Ridge as the complex faced heating and cooling failures.
White also pointed to his response after severe storms damaged Park Forest, saying he organized volunteers with chainsaws and trucks to help remove fallen trees.
“Any issue that has come up in Park Forest, I’ve tried to make myself be involved to the point that we can produce change,” White said.
Before joining the Village Board, White served on the Park Forest Youth Commission, the Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163 Board and the South Suburban Mass Transit District. He is also senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Park Forest. The Village’s official biography lists him as a lifelong Park Forest resident.
For White, those experiences form the foundation of his argument for moving from trustee to mayor.
“I’m currently a pastor in Park Forest, been here my entire life, and I’m raising my family here,” White said. “My goal is to see Park Forest regain the glory days, but also have a plan for the future.”
And while the coming campaign is likely to feature disagreements over the current administration’s record, White said his broader message will be about residents seeing local government as accessible to them.
“My children go to school here. I’m raising a family here, and so I care about here,” White said. “We’re going to fight as hard as we can to make sure Park Forest is the best place possible.”
Randall White Outlines Mayoral Vision for Park Forest, Focusing on Taxes, Business Growth and Leadership
