Kim’s campaign focuses on:

Stopping the Dismantling of Granite City!

In the past 4 years, Granite City has experienced the destructive decisions and policies coming from City Hall and its Administration. From selling city assets, turning the downtown historic district into a bar-crawl, to tearing down historic homes- the infrastructure of Granite City as a whole has failed under our current Mayor. As Mayor, Kim Benda will restore Granite to the previous stability of a growing community: reversing poor city-wide decisions like sub-par trash service, bringing in revenue by restoring-not destroying- the available housing market, establish a variety of resident- driven counsels that will network together with City Council, and finding the paper-trail of our tax dollar expenditures and hold people accountable. Lets get back to brass tacks and clean up City Hall and our city for good!

This is more than a campaign; it is a movement in the community to see change in the way government functions in Granite City!

Kim Benda’s campaign is not just about getting the title of Mayor, but its about amassing a network of concerned citizens looking to instate change in Granite City government for good. Regardless of the results of this election, the people involved in Kim’s campaign will continue to work for a change in the way the administration in Granite City is operating City Hall and spending tax dollars. Many of the members of this movement are the next generation of political figures in our community and even if these changes don’t come after the April 2025 election, the constant involvement of this group in the politics in Granite City will continue into the future. Kim Benda knows how important changing the political scene in Granite City from a “Good Old Boys Club” and elections from a “high school popularity contest” and she aims to show what a difference can be made by bringing qualified, professional support staff to the policy decisions in Granite City.

Un-cooking the Books

Over the last 100 years, the books in Granite City have lived in vague, hand-written records with little to no clarity on where money and tax dollars are spent. While we know we can't always correct our past mistakes, by identifying them we can change course and stop repeating them. Kim Benda will bring an exhaustive dissection of the city and its expenditures through forensic accounting and will share the transparency of where their dollars have gone to the people of the city.

Creating Psychological Security in the City once again:

Citizens are only as safe as they feel. When they have issues with policies, ordinances, or actions of the city, citizens should feel empowered to attend City Council meetings, set meetings with City Council members, or knock on the Mayor’s office door to ask questions and get answers. Kim Benda will be a civil servant looking to empower the citizens of this city to speak up and be a part of the political process. Her open-door policy will bring back the warmth and trust that has been missing from City Hall and its Administration.

Preventing an “Architectural Genocide”:

As a real estate agent and property manager, Kim Benda understands first hand the value of property and how home ownership is the cornerstone of any thriving city. Kim Benda and her team of knowledgeable committee members will partner with Illinois experts in building, surveying, and historic restoration to keep the architectural gems in this city in working condition, instead of knocking down structurally sound buildings. Rebuild this city with Kim Benda and she will show you how to grow the community and return Granite to a thriving city through home-ownership.

Establishing informed councils to develop city-wide action plans:

In the last 4 years, we have seen a breakdown of knowledge-base in the departments of City Hall. Many of our knowledgeable employees have retired, moved to new positions, or have found conflict with leadership in City Hall, leaving us with an administration making uninformed decisions. To prevent this from happening again, Kim Benda will reinstate the numerous city committees we used to have that are standard in other municipalities in Madison County. By bringing committees back here in Granite City, filled with citizens who are experts in their field and not just a group of “popular people” in the city.

By bringing back expert knowledge and professionals into city committees, Kim Benda will restore the balance this city needs to rebuild what we have lost in the last four years.

Working with the citizens to help the homeless and clean up the streets:

Ask anyone in the downtown area, and they will tell you we have an issue with the homeless population. The current administration claims the homeless are being dropped off from other areas, when research shows 80 percent of the homeless are long-time Granite City residents with family living here in town. To help mitigate the homeless crisis and get the homeless off the streets, Kim will develop a committee focused on helping and supporting our homeless community while cleaning up the downtown area.

Learn more about the “Clean Streets Committee” here

Creating a safer city with citizen involvement:

While the current numbers show reported crime down 18% in Granite City, we all know the growing amount of unreported crime is soaring. The reason for unreported crime is two-fold:

1) Police are overworked and the thin staffing prevents accurate documentation of all crimes taking place (minor crimes often getting overlooked and not documented)

2) The faith in the police in general is faulty following nationwide decrease in trust in law enforcement officers. Therefore, citizens are less likely to call the police when they are witnessing crime or are in need for police support.

A way to combat these facts is to mobilize citizens to help protect and support their neighbors and offer resources to these volunteer citizen groups from City Hall. These groups are set to work with the police, not independent from them, and will maintain transparent communication between their activities and that of the Police Department. Kim Benda will create a “Neighborhood Watch Committee” that will create a network of Neighborhood watch groups throughout all 5 Wards. These committees will be supported by the Aldermen in each ward, and will allow for members of the Auxiliary Police and other trained emergency responders who are residents in these neighborhoods to create a network of supporting and reporting

Learn more about the “Taking Back Our City Committee” here