Since 1889, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has protected Cook County’s water supply, fighting floods and treating wastewater. It’s a big, important agency that partners with local governments and runs related programs, such as distributing irrigation barrels to capture rain and disposing of prescription drugs to keep them out of drinking water.
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In the 2026 primary, we endorsed the three incumbent Democrats running for reelection to six-year terms: Precious Brady-Davis, Eira Corral Sepúlveda and Beth McElroy Kirkwood. Democratic challenger Sarah Bury, a progressive lawyer and environmentalist, ran a spirited grassroots campaign. Brady-Davis and Sepúlveda cruised to victories, while McElroy Kirkwood, who Bury bluntly targeted as the weakest of the three, drew less support but still prevailed.
Now, along come three serious Republican candidates to challenge the incumbents. The competition is good news for Cook County. The Illinois GOP is gettng dragged down not only by the unpopularity of President Donald Trump but also by a dearth of good candidates statewide. Michelle Pennington, Timothy Rueckert and Jill Shestokas describe themselves as running mates and have coordinated their campaigns. They also worked together to fend off a challenge brought by Democrats to their positions on the ballot.
While they present a united front, their backgrounds and ambitions differ significantly. Pennington, who runs a real-estate consultancy, challenged Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon in the 2024 election. We endorsed the experienced Gordon, who went on to a landslide victory.
Pennington is taking a provocative approach to her second run for Cook County office. She’s attacking what she considers the MWRD’s wasteful spending on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, Employee Resource Groups, cultural events and internships. She wants sweeping layoffs and budget cuts in those areas, echoing the national GOP’s attacks on DEI initiatives.
This page is all in favor of trimming bloated budgets across Cook County government. But we suspect Pennington’s ideas would find zero support among her fellow MWRD board members. And we see a downside to bringing culture-war politics into an agency that needs to reach underserved parts of the county where flooding is arguably at its worst. Pennington also wants to slash MWRD’s legislative and intergovernmental affairs team, a function the agency needs to partner with communities across the county for local water projects, not to mention state and federal partners.
Among its partners was Rueckert, who previously served eight years as Highway Commissioner for Northfield Township, a role that involved flood mitigation and drainage projects in concert with MWRD. Rueckert has a law-enforcement background and told us he would bring “an independent set of eyes to the board” and a “willingness to scrutinize decisions rather than simply inherit them.” Asked about Pennington’s proposals for slashing DEI and similar programs, he told us, “I would want to examine the individual programs, contracts, staffing and results before committing to eliminating every one of them.”
So far, so good. But serving one township is much simpler than the regional water challenges that an MWRD commissioner needs to tackle. We’re not convinced Rueckert knows enough about the agency to hit the ground running and be an effective foil to the Democrats he would face on the board of this complicated, sprawling operation.
Shestokas, on the other hand, served as MWRD’s main spokesperson from 2007 through 2010. “I explained the agency’s engineering, policy and financial decisions to the media and the public in easy-to-understand messaging,” she told us. During her tenure, she also co-chaired a committee for an international water association she says gave her awards for her work at MWRD.
Since leaving the agency, Shestokas says she has worked in political consulting. She has specific ideas for improvements at MWRD that sound doable, even with a Democrat-dominated board. One good idea is for “a single, easily navigable public project dashboard showing projects and programs, original and current costs, deadlines, progress and reason for delays.” After major storms, she told us, she would seek “after-action reviews of what worked, what failed and what needs to change.” If those aren’t happening today, they should be.
Shestokas promises to hold the board accountable for “languishing projects” and “distorted financial realities.” Amen to that, as one-party rule in Cook County is an enemy of accountability. Having a knowledgeable Republican on the board could help to keep things honest and transparent.
The trouble for the Republican candidates is the quality of their opponents. Brady-Davis is a rising star in Cook County politics who threw herself into the MWRD role three years ago, when Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appointed her. She has become a visible and effective commissioner. Corral Sepúlveda, meantime, has served competently at MWRD since 2020, when we first endorsed her for the office. Brady-Davis and Corral Sepúlveda deserve reelection.
The harder decision is between Democrat McElroy Kirkwood and Shestokas, who would be the most effective of the GOP challengers. It’s a tough call, as McElroy Kirkwood is sensible and devoted, having given up her job in public education to focus on the MWRD after Pritzker appointed her two years ago. Her lengthy record of public service commands respect, while Shestokas is a first-time candidate. But the opportunity to elect a Republican watchdog with insider knowledge to this important post is too good to pass up.
We advise readers to split their tickets: Our endorsements for the MWRD board go to Brady-Davis, Sepúlveda and Shestokas.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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