CHICAGO HEIGHTS | The significance of the City Council's decision on April 30 to select Alex Lopez as successor to now-state Rep. Anthony DeLuca is not lost on the former 2nd Ward Alderman.

"It means a lot," Lopez said. "It's a historical moment. Within the community we have a large number of Hispanic population. I've gotten a lot of feedback that so many people are proud to see the first Hispanic mayor."

Lopez, 43, said that although his heritage and working class background help him form a common bond with many city residents, he hopes to be viewed for the qualifications he brings to the mayoral seat.

The 1983 Bloom High School graduate earned a finance degree from Western Illinois University prior to his election as alderman two years ago. He has also served as superintendent of the Chicago Heights Park District since 2006.

Chief of Staff Matt Fares described how Lopez set forth immediately to clean up the city after his election, whether it be having debris picked up or cutting grass.

"He wanted to visibly try and show a difference and or new vision and I think he's done a great job of that so far," Fares said.

Besides improving the city's image by sprucing it up, Lopez said that attracting new development is another immediate goal.

"We have a large number of foreclosures, vacant buildings," Lopez said. "So we really need an aggressive economic development plan."

Lopez said that the city faces a projected budget deficit of $2,000,000.

"Unless we make some major changes, we're probably looking at the same type of deficit this upcoming year," he said.

Lopez hopes that having former Chicagoan Barack Obama in the White House and former Mayor DeLuca in Springfield will result in more state and federal grant dollars coming to Chicago Heights.

Lopez, who plans to run for re-election when his current term expires in two years, recently made the decision to appoint Michael Camilli as police chief following the retirement of former chief Anthony Murphy.

He said that he feels Camilli shares his vision of trying to change what he called "the culture of the Police Department."

"I think over the past years there's been many families that have complained about the way that our officers communicate and treat the civilian community," Lopez said.