Former Homer Glen trustee Pazmino says village board needs independent voice
Former trustee and restaurant owner Ruben Pazmino hopes to continue to push his ideas to help taxpayers in Homer Glen as an independent voice in the April 1 election. Homer Glen gets very little attention from the media and its issues and needs are often ignored. Pazmino says he will fight to change that
By Ray Hanania
Former Homer Glen Trustee and business owner Ruben Pazmino believes that the interests of taxpayers, homeowners, and landowners will be best represented if the board has at least one independent voice to be a check and balance on the board.
If the incumbent mayor’s endorsed slate gets in, there will be rubber-stamp rule on the board and very little discussion of issues, Pazmino said.
Pazmino, who served as Homer Glen Village Trustee from 2019-23, said an independent voice will ensure that every issue is fully addressed objectively.
One of six candidates running for three open seats, Pazmino has great name recognition as the owner of the very popular Rubi Agave Latin Kitchen on 159th Street and believes his business management skills are needed to address a range of challenges plaguing residents.
“One of the big issues is the high costs Homer Glen residents pay for water. We need new ideas and we need to explore how we can control rising costs,” Pazmino said.
“But there are many others that have to be addressed, including spending and the potential of rising local taxes, the lack of new businesses investing in Homer Glen, and the lack of investment in new infrastructure to help attract more businesses to 159th Street.”
Pazmino said new businesses would help ease the burden on taxpayers by bringing in sales tax revenues. While trustee, Pazmino voted against Homer Glen’s first-ever local property tax and voted against the proposed increase twice after that.
“We don’t have to increase the sales tax. All we have to do is find a way to bring in new businesses without disrupting the openness of our community and village’s landscape. We want to protect this community from the industrialization that transforms other communities, but at the same time we need to find a way to increase those businesses to help generate new revenues without raising taxes,” Pazmino said.
“We need new businesses in our commercial corridors, in order to secure the financial sustainability of the Village and its ongoing operations. These issues together are the most pressing major issues.”
Pazmino served on the Executive Board and as Treasurer for the Heritage Corridor Business Alliance (the local business chamber of commerce). He served as Co-Chair of the Community and Economic Development Committee, giving him a strong understanding of balancing the natural environment of the village against the need to bring in revenues to ease the burden on homeowners and landowners.
“We have a lot of beautiful land here and we want to protect that from development. But we do have some areas, like the 159th corridor, where we can attract businesses that will help our community and not overburden it,” Pazmino said, noting his opposition to development on Will County designated Open Space.
Pazmino said that despite being an independent candidate, he plans on working closely with the Mayor and board if elected. His priority will be defending the best interests of the taxpayers of Homer Glen and its local businesses. He also stated that he is “looking forward to listening to and presenting new ideas that will make Homer Glen an even better community to live in”.
“One of my goals is to have Homer Glen finally take charge of its own destiny, and to create its own wastewater and sewer solutions, as this is crucial for the sustainability of the Village,” Pazmino said, addressing the high water charges.
“We need to create our own sanitation district which will ultimately allow us to detach from Lockport’s sanitation district and possibly reduce or eliminate sewer fees from Illinois American Water as we would own the line going west.”
Pazmino said he is disappointed that the candidates and incumbents have not agreed to a public debate where ideas and issues can be explored.
“We don’t need a debate where we attack each other. The public needs a debate where the candidates can present their ideas, and engage the public directly,” Pazmino said.
“I think once the election is over, we need to find ways to get the citizens of Homer Glen engaged with the decision-making process. Having a public debate, or discussion, would be a good step even with only a few weeks left before the April 1 election. We can do it online or at a public location where residents can come to ask questions and have the candidates answer.”
For more information on Ruben Pazmino’s candidacy for Homer Glen trustee, visit his website at
You can also submit questions and engage in discussion on Homer Glen issues by emailing him at ruben4trustee@gmail.com
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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