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Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series looking at candidates running for DeKalb County Board in the general election. The second part, focused on Districts 6-9, will run in Friday’s print paper. For more information on all election candidates, referendum and other information, check out the Daily Chronicle’s Election Central online at shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/election.
SYCAMORE – DeKalb County voters will choose who next represents them on the DeKalb County Board on Nov. 5, when they’ll vote for one or two representatives for their district.
The County Board helps determine policy countywide, has a say in how locals are taxed and what that money is used for, and also votes on budgets for county offices including the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the DeKalb County Health Department and the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On election day, 24 candidates will compete for 14 seats on the DeKalb County Board in Tuesday’s general election.
Every two years, each of the 12 districts in the county has one of their two representatives up for election. The 2024 general election on Tuesday will have a candidate in each district from DeKalb County, however, in some districts, there are multiple open seats.
District 1
The district includes Malta, South Grove, Franklin, Mayfield and Kingston townships, according to DeKalb County documents. Two candidates are seeking to fill a seat with a two-year unexpired term, and two other candidates are hoping to be voted in for a full four-year term.
Tracy Ash, a Democrat, and Tim Hughes, a Republican did not fill out a Shaw Local candidate questionnaire when asked. Ash did not respond to a request for comment on her campaign, while Hughes declined comment. The candidates are running for the four-year term.
Fredrick Hall, a Democrat, is running against Rhonda Henke, an incumbent Republican. Each seeks the two-year unexpired term. Henke was appointed in February 2023.
Henke, 67, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her campaign, but she did fill out a Shaw Local candidate questionnaire. She wrote that she wants to continue protecting landowners’ rights while working to preserve the county’s agriculture industry, and believes county government must be good stewards of the tax money it collects.
“It is important to maintain a balanced budget and live within our means. At the same time, we need to be prepared to meet the long-term needs of our citizens,” Henke wrote. “We can achieve this by being fiscally responsible, insisting on transparency in our government and being accountable for our actions.”
Hall, 84, did not fill out the questionnaire but did respond to a request for comment. He said he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1959, when he was 19, and was on active duty in various countries around the world for four years and nine months as an autopilot technician. Hall said he’s staunchly opposed to Republican Presidential candidate former President Donald Trump particularly because of Trump’s comments about members of the U.S. military, and his fiscal policy.
As for why he’s running for the DeKalb County Board seat, Hall said he’s asking for votes because he is opposed to the privatization of government facilities and services.
“I have seen that in the past, where they wind up depleting everything, raking as much money as they can and then turning around and handing it back to the government to have to repair it,” Hall said.
District 2
The district includes Genoa Township and the northern half of Sycamore Township. One full-term seat is up for grabs.
Kathleen “Kathy” Lampkins, an incumbent Republican is running against Democrat Christopher “Chris” Schroeder.
Lampkins is seeking to retain her seat, which she has held since December 2020. She did not fill out a candidacy questionnaire sent by Shaw Local and did not respond to a request for comment.
Schroeder, 48, said he’s running for the DeKalb County Board seat because he wants working-age citizens to be represented in county government.
“I honestly think that we could certainly use a little bit of younger blood in some of these seats,” Schroeder said. “Because I go to some of these meetings and it’s like ‘Man, I feel young all of the sudden.’ Even at 48.”
District 3
Save the southwest corner of the township, District 3 encompasses the southern half of Sycamore Township.
Incumbent Democrat Amber Quitno is competing against Republican Kim E. Coovert for the open District 3 County Board seat.
Since December 2022, Quitno has represented the district at the DeKalb County Board and has been among the loudest supporters of the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center to remain under county control.
This fall, a mailer with inaccurate information about Quitno was mailed to voters living in at least three County Board Districts, including District 3. Quitno said the contents of the mailer, which alleged Quitno’s involvement in local court filings, were not true, but doesn’t know who created them.
“I would say somebody’s afraid,” Quitno said. “My district leans a little bit right, so my district was vulnerable and I think my district is the most vulnerable of the races, one of the most vulnerable of the races right now so they targeted me. What they said in those pamphlets was very misleading, and there was no transparency, and I believe probably broke campaign transparency finance laws.”
Sycamore Citizens for Common Sense took credit for the mailers themselves, but the group does not have an online presence and has not registered as a political action committee.
In an email, Coovert, 56, said she’s running for District 3 because of her and her family’s love for the community and because she believes it’s a good place to raise a family. She credited DeKalb County’s “unique blend of agriculture, industry and education,” in her response.
In Coovert’s Shaw Local candidate questionnaire, she wrote she wants the county to have a balance between city and country living, as well as industrial and agricultural business.
“It is critically important to hold the line and hopefully reduce the tax burden of DeKalb County residents,” Coovert wrote. “We can do that by holding all of our departments to their budgets, seeking grants, and state and federal funding when possible. Increasing the patient census and reducing expenses at the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center are important factors to DeKalb County’s fiscal success.”
District 4
District 4 includes the southwesternmost points of Sycamore township and the northwesternmost areas of Cortland township – north of Bethany Road but south of State Street and west of the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River.
Elizabeth Lundeen, a Republican, is running to unseat incumbent Democrat Stewart Ogilvie, who has represented District 4 since December 2022.
Neither Lundeen nor Ogilvie responded to requests for comment on their campaign, but Ogilvie did participate in the Shaw Local candidate questionnaire. Ogilvie, 70, a DeKalb School District 428 educator, wrote that he’s supportive of the DeKalb County Board’s decisions regarding the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center – which will remain county-owned after a controversial sale with private buyers, who the county is currently suing, fell through.
“I was one of the many who helped save the County Home, set up the oversight board, hire new personnel, and helped facilitate the growth of services in the home,” Ogilvie wrote. ”Yes, I believe it should remain publicly owned. It is an important part of the health needs and history of DeKalb County.”
District 5
District 5 encompasses the majority of Cortland Township, the northern stretches of Pierce and Afton townships, and a sliver of southern and eastern DeKalb Township, according to county documents.
Veronica Garcia-Martinez, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Republican Savannah Ilenikhena.
Ilenikhena has been on the board since December 2022 and serves on the Health and Human Services and Highway DeKalb County Board committees. Ilenikhena did not respond to a request for comment, nor did she fill out a questionnaire from Shaw Local.
Martinez also did not fill out a questionnaire but did respond to a request for comment on her campaign. She said she’s a teacher and small business owner and is running for the County Board seat to inspire children, students and the community to embrace the power of civic duty.
“We deserve leaders who are committed to advocating for the needs of small family-owned businesses, public education, and equitable representation for all residents of DeKalb County,” Martinez wrote in part. “My campaign is about ensuring that everyone in our community – regardless of sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status, or any other aspect of identity – feels seen, heard, and valued.”