Several south and southwest suburban mayors, residents and the Will County Farm Bureau raised objections Monday to Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant’s plan to reduce the number of representatives to the Will County Board.
The majority of speakers at the in-person public hearing opposed the plan to divides the county into 11 districts with two representatives per district, thereby eliminating four county board seats. Several emails were read into the record reflecting both support and opposition to the smaller county government.
Board members are expected to vote Oct. 21 whether to remap the county’s existing 13 districts or divide the county into the 11 districts. Both plans call for two representatives per district.
A bipartisan, ad hoc committee of board members has worked on the 13-district plan. Bertino-Tarrant presented her proposal last month.
Every 10 years, the county map must be reexamined to reflect population shifts based on the latest census data. One of the most important factors is an equal population in each district so that one vote does not have more impact than another, said Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Tatroe.
Mayors in Crete, Monee, Frankfort and Mokena were among those to object to the reduced board size.
Crete Mayor Michael Einhorn said if his town is grouped in with the larger municipality of Frankfort, it will dilute eastern Will County’s representation on the board.
“It’s kind of a standing joke on the eastern side like we are the forgotten people,” Einhorn said.
He said the 11-district map would dilute Crete’s representation in favor of people who “don’t even have any concept of where we’re at in regards to the general geography of Will County.”
Einhorn agreed.
“It’s not broke,” he said of the existing 13-district map. “We don’t need to fix it.”
Monee Mayor Therese Bogs said her community of about 5,000 residents would be overshadowed by larger communities in the district proposed by the county executive. That would not be in Monee’s best interest, she said.
“None of this redistricting makes any sense except for the obvious political gains of others,” Bogs said.
Emails from both Frankfort Mayor Keith Ogle and Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer were read objecting to a proposal to divide the Lincoln-Way area and group them with dissimilar communities in Bertino-Tarrant’s proposal. The 13-district map fairly represents the area, which shares common community interests and a common identity through the Lincoln-Way High School District 210, they said.
“Fair maps, representation and confidence in the election process are cornerstones of our democracy,” Ogle said in his email.
An email read from the Will County Farm Bureau also it favored keeping the county divided into 13 districts so rural and unincorporated residents would have a voice. A shift to an 11-district map places urban voters in rural districts, making it difficult for rural residents and farmers to be represented, farm bureau president Steve Warrick wrote.
Other residents said they felt the 11-district map was political in nature and an effort to squeeze out Republican voices.
Residents in favor of Bertino-Tarrant’s proposal said the move to a smaller government can both save money and streamline board operations.
Sonia Jenkins-Bell, a University Park village trustee, said she is favor of the 11-district plan.
“Politicians need to know that … the people count,” she said. “And we need to watch their tax dollars and the way they’re being spent.”
Residents noted that Lake, DuPage and Cook counties have larger populations than Will County but fewer county board members.
A smaller county board moves Will County closer in line to these other counties, said Monty Jackson, the collector for DuPage Township.
Ellen Moriarty, a Homer Township resident, said she feels that the reduced size of the board makes sense and will save money.
“The census has given us the opportunity to work again for the betterment of Will County,” she said. “Let’s not squander that. The executive took great care using principled details so each district reflects their populations and they are all more equally balanced.”
She said the only reason board members would oppose the 11-district map is their own self-interest.
“There is no reason the taxpayers should want to continue with an oversized board,” Moriarty said.
Bertino-Tarrant said Tuesday that creating a map is not an easy task, but she is reaching out to mayors and others who expressed their concerns.
She said in addition to keeping each district as close to equal in population, she worked to keep municipalities intact and townships as unified as possible.
The Lincoln-Way area, for instance, is a large area both geographically and in population and is near impossible to keep together, Bertino-Tarrant said. Under her proposal, the Lincoln-Way area moves from having two districts to three districts, which gives it more representation, she said.
She also said farmers have had both Democrat and Republican support at the county board level, and representatives from large Will County municipalities such as Joliet, Naperville and Bolingbrook have voted in favor of agriculture-related programs and policies.
“To say their voice is going to be silenced is not accurate,” Bertino-Tarrant said.
She said the reduced size of the board will improve efficiency, streamline operations and save taxpayer money on county board member salaries, benefits, travel and other expenses.
Board member Don Gould, a Republican from Shorewood and vice chair of the reapportionment committee, said the 13-district map took input from both parties and is fair. He urged county board members to show that they are impartial, and said he does not want to see a party-line vote.
“If it comes out of this county that it’s a party-line vote, that sends the wrong message to the people of Will County,” Gould said. “We need to show the people of Will County that we can be fair and honest. That’s the kind of map we need.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.