Election 2020: DeKalb County Board: Endorsement

There are 13 seats to be filled on the DeKalb County Board to represent districts 1-12. The county is divided into 12 districts based on population. Members are elected for four-year terms. One member is elected in each district every two years. District 11 has two races this year, since one race is for a two-year unexpired term.

There are several uncontested races for the Nov. 3 election, including the District 9 race newcomer Neill Mohammad, a Democrat, District 7 with incumbent Craig Roman, a Democrat, and District 6 with incumbent Terri Mann Lamb, a Democrat.

District 1

Franklin, Malta, Mayfield, Milan, South Grove, Shabbona, Paw Paw and Sycamore townships

Republican Kathleen Lampkins soon will retire from the DeKalb County Circuit Clerk’s Office and she said she supports the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office funding as is and commends the DeKalb County Health Department for its COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Democrat Jill Simpson lives in Shabbona, works as a librarian at Indian Creek High School, wants to advocate for personal responsibility when it comes to public health mitigations during the pandemic and, along with Lampkins, is a newcomer to elected office.

Kathleen Lampkins is endorsed.

District 2

Genoa and Kingston Township

Republican Tim Hughes is a veteran and has served on the DeKalb County Board since 2017 and supports equipping the sheriff’s deputies with body cameras and lowering taxes.

Democrat Christi Slavenas is a retired teacher with extensive community and board service, supports a balanced county budget and supports continued efforts to educate the public on the COVID-19 pandemic. She cited transparency and openness to constituents as a reason for running.

Christi Slavenas is endorsed.

District 3

Cortland and Sycamore townships

Democrat Joshua Orr also has experience working in a circuit clerk’s office and said he supports mitigations on crowd gatherings and businesses as “unfortunate” but necessary for public safety.

Republican Patrick Deutsch is a dairy farmer who said he knows what it takes to balance a budget and supports improvements on public safety and infrastructure, especially on Plank Road. He doesn’t support dictating to the sheriff’s office how to use their funds.

Both candidates are newcomers to the board.

Patrick Deutsch is endorsed.

District 4

Cortland and Sycamore townships

Republican Laurie Emmer is a military veteran and as she seeks a second term on the board, brings experience and energy to research topics and serves on committees. Emmer supports more training for DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies and approve of the county budget as it stands.

Democrat Amber Quitno is a private consultant for the biotech and medical industries and has shown a thorough ability to research topics as she heads into her first race for elected office. She believes county leaders need to do a better job at “changing mindsets” as it relates to public safety protocols facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

We feel both these women would bring strong leadership and knowledge to the DeKalb County Board, and either way, District 4 is in good hands, so this was a tough call. Emmer already comes with board experience.

Laurie Emmer is endorsed.

District 5

DeKalb Township

Democrat Kiara Jones was appointed to the board in the spring to fill a vacancy and is seeking to solidify her role in the election. She brings with her a true understanding of what her district faces and has the ability to connect with constituents and learn as she goes.

Libertarian Sasha Cohen is running to improve the economic outlook of his district. He supports finding room to cut in the budget and deferring property tax payments for those struggling financially during the pandemic.

Kiara Jones is endorsed.

District 8

Cortland and DeKalb townships

Democrat Chris Porterfield is a retired Northern Illinois University administrator and is seeking reelection to continue focusing the county’s efforts on pandemic relief and issues of social justice. He supports bringing in social workers to aid sheriff’s deputies, and deferring property tax payments for struggling residents.

Republican William Cummings is a retired NIU accounting professor who wants to tackle pandemic relief and high property taxes. He supports more training in the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Chris Porterfield is endorsed.

District 10

Cortland and DeKalb townships

Republican Jeff Whelan has been on the County Board for nearly a decade, and cites economic development and tax burden relief as pivotal to his continued campaign.

Democrat Mary Cozad is a retired NIU Spanish professor with a reputation for community activism, she said. She supports a graduated income tax and has shown her commitment to researching a variety of topics related to board service.

Jeff Whelan is endorsed.

District 11

Afton, Clinton, Cortland, Pierce, Squaw Grove,
South Grove township

Seat 1 (four-year term)

Republican Roy Plote is a commodity broker, farms and lives in Leland and serves on the executive, highway and planning and zoning committees for the board. He also has served nearly two decades on the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.

Democrat Roberta McFarland is newcomer to the DeKalb County Board and DeKalb County, having moved to Hinckley in 2015. She’s a retired teacher and school counselor and would be a strong advocate for farmers to represent the rural communities of District 11.

Roy Plote is endorsed.

Seat 2 (two-year unexpired term)

Democrat Court Schuett is a sales engineer who lives in Waterman. He supports wind turbines and green energy production in the county.

Republican Karen Cribben is seeking reelection to the board and recently retired as chief deputy for the DeKalb County Assessment Office. She’s shown her ability to research a multitude of topics in preparation for board service and wants to address gun club measures and road weight limits.

Karen Cribben is endorsed.

District 12

Sandwich and Somonauk townships

Democrat Brian Kubisak lives in Sandwich and is a small-business owner and veteran who wants to decriminalize drug addiction and work to uplift small businesses suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republican Jerry Osland is an excavation entrepreneur who has been on the board since 2016 and serves on the finance and highway committees.

Jerry Osland is endorsed.