Twenty-year-old seeks seat on Geneva City Council

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GENEVA – At age 20, John Trierweiler is 60 years younger than outgoing 5th Ward Alderman Paul DesCoteaux.

But the sophomore at Columbia College in Chicago sees his youth as an asset, not a detriment in his attempt to replace DesCoteaux on the City Council.

"Geneva has never had an alderman this young," Trierweiler said. "I think it is a good thing. I've done a lot of work in the city, and I want to continue to do that."

DesCoteaux, 80, who has been on the City Council for 20 years, is not running for re-election in April.

Candidates will file their nominating petitions between Jan. 19 and Jan. 26. Trierweiler is the first candidate to announce he is running for the 5th Ward seat.

He is a 2006 graduate from Geneva High School, where he was the G-TV weatherman. Trierweiler has volunteered for several organizations, including the Geneva Fire Department, the Geneva History Center and the Geneva Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.

He earned his Eagle Scout award in 2006 by leading an effort on the city's east side to distribute smoke detectors to more than 1,000 houses.

"I care a lot about Geneva," Trierweiler said. "I grew up here, and I think it is a great community."

Trierweiler said he also has some ideas on how to make Geneva a better place to live. That includes the continued improvement of the East State Street Corridor.

"I want to give it that Third Street charm," he said.

Trierweiler also would like to see the closed Settlers Hill landfill become a recreation area.

"I think it could be extremely beneficial to make it a recreation area," he said. "Do something fun with it."

DesCoteaux said he was impressed that a 20-year-old would want to run for City Council.

"Who knows? He might win," DesCoteaux said. "I wouldn't hold his age against him."

Trierweiler is majoring in broadcast journalism at Columbia, where he serves as the vice president of communications to the Student Senate.