Interview with a candidate: Theresa Sullivan

Theresa Sullivan is running for Naperville’s city council for the first time. She has spent two and a half years as precinct committeeperson, a different elected position.

Outside of her work in local governments, Sullivan runs her own small business as a career consultant. She says that her work helping professionals decide how to best structure their future careers gives her the experience to “understand a problem and help somebody walk through different ways to resolve it.” Sullivan also has three degrees in business, which she says gives her a good background in finance and negotiation to “bring to the table.”

Sullivan says that she was born and raised in Naperville and was motivated to get involved in local government because she is a mother of three and wanted to “make an impact in the city [she] grew up in and the city [her] kids are growing up in.” She believes it gives her valuable “perspective” on and “investment” in Naperville.

Sullivan lists a number of things she thinks are important for the city. She wants to help keep Naperville a safe community by “giving both the police and fire department the tools they need.” She also said she wanted to focus on “responsible development,” to ensure that anything built was in the best interest of Naperville residents. She also believes that the fact that Naperville doesn’t currently have an ethics ordinance is an issue. Ethics ordinances are intended to prevent elected officials from having their decisions influenced by contributions to their campaigns from businesses and other organizations, which Sullivan believes is important for “government transparency.”

Sullivan said the most important thing for a city councilperson is “having good judgment.” She says that city council people are “asked to constantly make decisions of all kinds,” and that it is important for them to remain “fair” by “always listening to the people who elected [them].”

She says that voters can learn more about her from her campaign website, https://www.sullivanfornaperville.org/, or through her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/SullivanforNaperville/, where she hosts weekly Facebook live conferences to answer questions and “be available.”