Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the June 28 primary election.
Six candidates are running in the Republican primary for five spots on the Kendall County Board in District 2.
The primary election is June 28.
The board consists of 10 members, with five elected from District 1 and five from District 2 on a partisan basis, with four-year, staggered terms. However, this year all seats are on the ballot, which is required every 10 years by Illinois statute.
Three Democrats are running for the seats in District 2, meaning they are unopposed in the Democratic primary. Running for the Democrats are incumbent Elizabeth Flowers, Zach Bachmann of Oswego and Brooke Shanley of Aurora.
Robyn Vickers decided not to seek re-election for her seat in District 2 in the Democratic primary.
The Republican race is contested, with six seeking the five spots on the board.
Kendall County Board Chairman Scott Gryder decided not to run for re-election in the Republican primary in District 2. Gryder is running in the Republican primary for U.S. representative in the 14th Congressional District.
The GOP race in District 2 features incumbents Matt Kellogg of Yorkville and Dan Koukol of Oswego. Challengers include former Oswego village president and Oswego Township supervisor Brian LeClercq and Oswego Township Trustees Diane Selmer and Donna Sawicki. Gabriella Shanahan of Joliet is also running in District 2 in the Republican primary.
Kellogg grew up on his family’s 1846 farmstead in an unincorporated area near Yorkville. He was elected to the Kendall County Board in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
“We are blessed to have some really good employees working in the county and that makes it enjoyable to help people out,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg said the county is bringing in new warehouse-sized businesses. However, he is concerned about inflation nationally and the potential impact it can have on the county.
“It is definitely a concern as we try to keep good employees and provide the salaries to keep them,” Kellogg said.
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Kellogg farms and owns an agricultural supply business. He said property taxes and looking for alternative sources of income other than real estate tax revenues to maintain services are among his primary concerns.
“I enjoy talking to people and working through problems,” he said. “We have lowered a portion of our real estate taxes significantly. The county portion of a tax bill is a fraction of the other taxing bodies but we are doing what we can to lessen the property tax burden.”
Koukol previously served six years on the Kendall County Board from 2010 to 2016. He returned to the board after winning election in 2020.
“I am a supporter of economic development. Our goal is to get the taxes under control in Kendall County and one way to do that is through development,” he said.
Some of the warehouse-type companies that have come in will generate substantial tax revenues, he said.
Koukol, a real estate broker and small business owner, serves as chairman of the county board’s Economic Development Committee.
“We want to be prepared for other opportunities to bring new businesses into the county,” Koukol said.
Koukol said the county regularly communicates with representatives from companies looking for prime corridors to locate.
LeClercq was elected Oswego village president in 2007, defeating a two-term incumbent. He was re-elected in 2011 and decided not to seek a third term. He previously served as an Oswego village trustee from 2005 to 2007. LeClercq was elected Oswego Township supervisor in 2017 in a three-way race but was defeated for the post in the 2021 election.
LeClercq, an investment adviser, said he has a passion for local politics and to serve people where he lives.
“We need to actively listen, see what the board has been working on and then determine what efficiencies and savings we can bring to the table,” LeClercq said.
“At the township level we are governed by Illinois statutes, so what we did as a little agency that could was to work together with other governmental bodies to save money. Especially during the pandemic, it caused us to really take pause and measure where we were deploying our resources to be most effective with them. I can bring that to the table,” LeClercq said.
LeClercq, a fifth generation Oswegoan, said he believes his years as a financial advisor and experience as an elected official will be a good fit on the county board.
Selmer was elected Oswego Township trustee in 2017 and 2021.
“Property taxes have been an issue for everyone,” Selmer said.
She is in the first year of her second term on the township board.
“As a trustee in my first term the township board lowered our levy by 2%, sold two township-owned properties and placed them back on the tax rolls and lowered the salaries of incoming elected officials,” Selmer said.
“As a township board we also put into place policies and procedures for greater efficiency and effectiveness. One of the significant things we did was to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the village of Oswego, Oswego-based School District 308 and Oswegoland Park District, and all of it has saved taxpayer dollars,” she said.
Sawicki, a graphic designer and mother of two teenagers in high school, was elected in 2021 to her first term as Oswego Township trustee. What was happening on the national level compelled her to run for office, she said.
“I am like a lot of Americans frustrated with what has been going on in politics. Kendall County has been able to stay in the red. That’s primarily why I got involved to run for the township board,” Sawicki said.
“Someone asked me if I would consider running for Kendall County Board,” she said. “I feel from the county board level we have more say in what happens in stopping some of the crazy mandates that come down from the governor. I feel that I can do more at the county board level.”
Shanahan, an executive assistant for a nonprofit group, currently serves on the finance committee of the Kendall County Board of Health. She is also a member of the city of Joliet Comprehensive Land Plan Commission.
“I want to represent the Joliet portion of Kendall County. This is an area often forgotten about,” she said.
Shanahan said she wants to continue the legacy of transparency of government in Kendall County.
“I would like to keep taxes low while keeping the level of services and do more,” Shanahan said.
She said she has a master’s degree in finance.
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“I am well qualified to fill this position. Local government is a passion of mine. People don’t always realize that your county board is impacted the most through property taxes and levies. We need fiscally responsible people to understand them and serve the people,” Shanahan said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.