About 100 people filled the first floor of the Women’s Center on State Street in DeKalb on Monday evening to hear candidates in the races for county board, county clerk and recorder, state’s attorney and circuit court judge. The forum was hosted by the League of Women’s Voters (unaffiliated members); moderated by Jason Schaumburg, managing editor of the Daily Chronicle; and it was the brainchild of DeKalb resident, Kay Shelton.
Kishwaukee College is seeking voter approval to sell bonds necessary for the amount of $52.6 million to add classrooms and labs, enhance student services, and improve infrastructure. KC President Dr. Tom Choice presented arguments stressing the need for the expansion. Choice explained that the very reason many voters would vote against the referendum — the economy — was a leading factor, due to enrollment growth, in the board’s decision to put the question on the ballot.
If approved the tax rate will remain unchanged, according to Choice. Bonds approved in earlier referendae will expire and be rolled-over to raise needed construction funds resulting in no increase in tax rate.
The difficulty in arranging a forum for county board candidates was illustrated with the first candidate called up to the stage. James Patrick Colford (D), challenger for the District 11 seat, began his statement asking who in the audience lived in District 11. There were none.
Colford said he was running because he wanted to work for improving rural county road conditions. He said his experience as a fireman has proven the need for better snow removal, for example, because of the increased response time poor maintenance creates.
Steve Walt (R), incumbent for District 6, told the audience he is seeking re-election for two primary reasons: He will continue to work to reduce the budget and he wants to form a citizen committee to select a replacement for retiring administrator, Ray Bockman.
Lynn Schmitz (D) and Jeff Whelan (R) are both challengers for the District 10 seat being vacated by Pat LaVigne who is not seeking re-election. Schmitz wants to put her experience in education administration to work on the county budget. She currently serves as chair of the DeKalb County U of I Extension Council and is vice chair of the DeKalb County Democratic Party. Whelan was on the board representing District 9 as a Democrat. While on the board he served as chair of the Finance Committee. A change in residence prompted him to leave the board but he now wants to return and continue serving on the board — this time as a Republican.
Eileen Dubin (D), the incumbent in District 8 faces another former board member, Julia Fullerton (R), who seeks to return to the board. Dubin is seeking re-election to continue in her role as chair of the Economic Development Committee to bring more and better jobs to DeKalb County, especially “green jobs” within our agriculture and manufacturing sectors. She believes its important to sustain the network of social services in the face of the current economy. Fullerton wants to work to improve public access to board and committee meetings through low-cost technology such as podcasts and video streaming and to scrutinize financial expenditures to reduce the county budget.
The candidate most critical of the current county board was Samuel Bandy, Jr. (R) who is challenging Julia Fauci (D) for the District 9 seat. Bandy thinks taxes are too high and nothing can be done about it as long as the County clings to the budget system it has in place. He believes the county should move towards “zero-based” budgeting principles. He believes there is duplication of services with the addition of the Economic Development Committee to the already funded DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation.
Fauci wants to continue working on the county’s green initiatives. As chair of the Forest Preserve Committee she worked to get a referendum passed that enabled the county to acquire property to add to the forest preserves and said there are two more properties for potential acquisition.
The sharpest criticism for an opponent came from Mark Pietrowski, Jr. (D) who is challenging Ken Andersen (R) in District 3. Pietrowski was critical of Andersen’s role on the committee that negotiated the hosting agreement with Waste Management for the landfill expansion. He read a published quote from Andersen that said any revenue source other than taxes was a good thing. He also criticized Andersen for seeking to discuss the acquisition of homes adjacent to the courthouse on its north side during such tough budget deliberations. If elected, Pietrowski said he would place an emphasis on communicating with residents and put out a monthly newsletter informing constituents in advance of upcoming issues.
Andersen reminded the audience that when all was said and done he voted against the expansion of the landfill. He said Pietrowski making some criticisms out of context. Andersen said that asking to discuss an issue did not necessarily indicate support or opposition to that issue and in the case of the courthouse properties he was fulfilling his representative responsibilities because constituents asked him to bring the topic up. He believes his voting record speaks for itself and, if re-elected, he will continue vote against the budget until administrators make the necessary cuts.
Each of the candidates running for the county board were asked about the landfill expansion issue — if their opponent was also in attendance at the forum. The incumbents running for re-election who voted for Waste Management’s proposal for the seven-fold expansion of the landfill in Cortland to bring in garbage from 17 northern Illinois counties are Michael Haines (D-Dist 2), John Hulseberg (D-Dist 4), Steve Walt (R-Dist 6), Sally Defauw (D-Dist 7) Julia Fauci (D-Dist 9) and Marlene Allen (R-Dist 12). Hulseberg, Defauw and Allen are running unopposed. Incumbents running for re-election who voted against the landfill expansion are Ken Andersen (R-Dist 3), Derek Tyson (D-Dist 5), Eileen Dubin (D-Dist 8 ) and John Gudmunson (R-Dist 11).
None of the challengers have indicated they would have supported the landfill expansion. Fullerton thinks the proximity of the Cortland Elementary School to the landfill will cause environmental and safety concerns that will not go away and their extent are unknown because the expansion has yet to take place. Bandy was again most critical of the expansion.
“To quote a Chronicle commenter,” said Bandy in reference to his opponent, Julia Fauci. “The only thing green about the dump will be the faces of the Cortland grade school kids.”
Jim Luebke (D) and John Acardo (R) are running for County Clerk and Recorder to fill the position created by Sharon Holmes’ retirement. Luebke places a priority on voter access to the polls while Acardo seeks to make enhancements that would increase voter access to public information.
Candidates for DeKalb County States Attorney debated their experience. Sarah Gallagher-Chami (D) said she has been the lead trial attorney on three cases yet cites her intense load in a variety of cases and roles as a prosecutor in Cook County. Clay Campbell (R) has been lead trial attorney in 60 cases and cites his 20 years experience working every day at the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Tom Doherty (R) is seeking a term as resident circuit court judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit. While he wants voters to choose him based on his past experiences and qualifications he believes a vote for him is a win-win situation as his opponent, Judge Jordan Gallagher, would retain his associate judge position should Doherty win the election.
Gallagher said he wants a win-win situation for the voters as well. He believes voters should elect him as the resident circuit court judge and Doherty should first apply and be screened by his peers for the position of associate judge to gain that experience before being elected.
- District 8 candidates: Eileen Dubin-D (sitting) and Julia Fullerton-R
- Dist 9 Candidates: Julia Fauci-D (speaking) and Samuel H. Bandy, Jr. -R
- 16th Judicial Circuit Court Judge: Judge Jordan Gallagher-D (left) and Thomas L. Doherty-R
- County Clerk & Recorder: Jim Luebke-D (sitting) and John Acardo-R
- Dist 3 Candidates: Mark Pietrowski-D (speaking) and Ken Andersen-R
- Dist 10 Candidates: Lynn Schmitz-D (speaking) and Jeff Whelan-R
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6 Comments


This is one of those situations where folks who know you understand the intent, Mac.
FYI I'm OK with gal, but draw the line at "broad" or "tomata." ; )

Calling adult women "gals" is condescending under any circumstances. Go back and check your AP Stylebook and its basic premise that writing should be free of bias.

This probably isn't earth shattering news for regular readers but my writing is biased. I'm kind of proud of that because I do my homework and present my views from an informed perspective. My writing isn't to provide an unbiased report on the news. I'm not a journalist. Hopefully I present an alternative perspective on some important issues that hit close to home and that gets more people participating in the process.
But if my choice of the word "gals" insults inadvertently then a better choice should have been made. Worse yet, my headline writing skills are lacking. It appears that my choice of a headline turned you away from reading the article. That defeats the whole purpose.
Apologies extended for a poor choice of word and even poorer headline writing. I hate having to drag out my dunce cap but I deserve it.

What a condescending headline. We don't need any little men telling us little women that it's cute when we run for office.

It was actually meant as a compliment to the gals that put the Candidate Forum together on short notice and inclusive of the county board races.
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Julie get a life! Excellent reporting Mac. I am very happy to see full coverage of this forum. Something that was lacking in the local printed media