:quality(70):focal(1858x1053:1868x1063)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/BRS6NFFQQBEVBJFAUD6MNG5E6Y.JPG)
A slew of candidates are hoping DeKalb County voters will back them in the April 1 consolidated election. Do you know who will be on your ballot?
Consolidated elections are known for low turnout rates. The 2021 election garnered a 14.59% turnout rate while the 2019 election had a 9% voter turnout rate. Regardless of how many people participate, consolidated elections determine who holds elected offices in more than 200 units of government across DeKalb County. Those officials can make decisions on how much you pay in property taxes, how to spend your tax revenue on roads, public services and education, and what kind of business and development comes to your town.
DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Tasha Sims told Shaw Local News Network she believes consolidated elections are “uniquely and overly complex.”
“Since Township Officials are up for election every four years, this cycle tends to have a larger ballot,” Sims wrote. “Each Clerk from the various Units of Government acts as their Local Election Official, responsible for tracking positions up for election (including mid-term appointments) and providing candidate information to us for ballot preparation.”
As the election approaches, Sims' office is now focused on building ballots so that samples can be provided to voters. A DeKalb city-only Democratic election primary also will take place Feb. 25, with write-in candidate for DeKalb Mayor Linh Nguyen running for a spot on the April ballot. The municipal election is April 1.
Here’s who’s running for office this spring:
City of DeKalb
DeKalb mayor: incumbent Cohen Barnes, 7th Ward Alderman John. B. Walker, Kouame M. Sanan. If Linh Nguyen is successful in the primary, her name also will appear on the ballot.
City Clerk: Bradley Hoey, Lynn Fazekas and Steve Kapitan
Ward 2: Incumbent Barbara Larson, Michael Embrey
Ward 4: Justin Carlson
Ward 6: Incumbent Mike Verbic
Ward 5 two-year unexpired term: incumbent Andre Powell
City of Sycamore
Sycamore mayor: Incumbent Steven Braser
City Clerk: Incumbent Mary Kalk
Ward 1: Incumbent Alan Bauer
Ward 2: No one is competing for the Sycamore 2nd Ward Alderperson position.
Ward 3: Write-in candidate Marvin Barnes
Ward 4: Incumbent Virginia Sherrod and Robert W. Dancey
City of Sandwich
Sandwich mayor: Incumbent Todd K. Latham, Colton Otto, Rick Whitecotton
City Clerk: Denise II
City Treasurer: Sandra L. Koehler
Ward 1: Matt Chunn and Phyllis Wallington
Ward 2: Genelle Inman, write-in candidate Rebecca Johnson
Ward 3: Jay Ketchum
Ward 4: Write-in candidates Donald Danko and Rebecca Nelson
City of Genoa
Genoa mayor: Incumbent Jonathon Brust
City Clerk: Incumbent Rebecca Stevenson
Ward 1: Christopher Pulley
Ward 3: Courtney Winter
Ward 4: Dean Gudeman
No one is running for the open Genoa 2nd Ward Alderperson position.
Town of Cortland
Cortland mayor: Incumbent Mark Pietrowski Jr. and Douglas Corson
Township Clerk: Cheryl “Cookie” Aldis
Board of Trustees: Victoria Haier, Michael Siewierski, Jim Walker and Randi Olson
Village Hinckley
Hinckley Village President: Sarah Quirk
Board of Trustees (3 open spots): Brian Swicki
Village of Kingston
There are no candidates for village of Kingston president.
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Joseph M. Hengels, Bradley W. Edwards and Todd Holman
No one filed to run for two two-year unexpired Board of Trustee terms.
Village of Kirkland
Kirkland Village president: Ryan Block
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): John Michener, Sarah Ziegler and Erik Marshall
Village of Lee
Village President: Steven Carlock
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Justin Post, Mitchell D. Hamm, Amber Otterstrom and Garet Galbreath
Village of Malta
Malta Village President: Christian Rebone
Boar of Trustees (3 open seats): Tonia Groezinger, J.T. Peloso, and David Christopher Simon
Village of Maple Park
Village president: Robert Iversen
Board of Trustees: Brenda Jergens, Tammy Arneson and Christie Manis
Village of Shabbona
Shabbona Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Kallan Welsh, Joshua Snyder, Joy Fay, Allison Kidd Probst and Mark Stanley
Two-year unexpired term Board of Trustees: David Simpson and Frank Ottengheime
Village of Somonauk
Somonauk village president: Aaron Grandgeorge
Board of Trustees: Bradley Eade and Jonathan “Jake” Whiteaker
Village of Waterman
Waterman village president: Incumbent Peter Robinson and Anton G. Feitlich
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Raymond Calhoun, Sarah Radtke, Corey Wade and Taylor Edwards-Jay
Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424
Genoa school board (4 open seats): Dean Gudeman, David Cleveland, Max Jake Wesner, Amber Eberly and Aidan Simmons; Matt Krueg is running as a write-in.
Indian Creek Community Unit School District 425
School board (4 open seats): Graham James Gletty, Lynn Byington, Sarah Frazier and Emily Maxwell
Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426
School board (3 open seats): Ralph Ziegler, Timothy S. Hall, Andrew Lyons and Norma Rutigliano. No one is running for the board’s two-year unexpired term.
Sycamore Community Unit School District 427
Sycamore school board (4 open seats): Michael DeVito, Jonathan “Cole” Regnery, Eric N. Jones, Heather Tomlinson and Alan Zantout. Christian Copple is running for a two-year unexpired term.
Sycamore School Board referendum
Voters living within Sycamore school district will be asked again to weigh in on easing restrictions on school board candidates living in the area eligible to run for office. The referendum failed in November, but district officials opted to place it back on the ballot. Here is the question:
“Shall the members of the board of Education of Sycamore Community School District No. 427, DeKalb and Kane Counties, Illinois, be elected at Large and without restriction by area of residence within the school district?”
DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
DeKalb school board (3 open seats): Marilyn D. Parker, Jose Jaques, Nicholas Atwood, Brandon J Elion, James W Mitchell, Twangie Smith, Howard Solomon, Erin Grych, Kristin Bailey, Stephen Gaffney and Derek Shaw.
Mark Charvat is running unopposed as a write-in candidate for a two-year unexpired term.
Hinckley-Big Rock Community Unit School District 429
Hinckley school board (4 open seats): Donald Jack Haines, Greg Pritchard, Abigail Barret and Darrin Gengler
Sandwich Community Unit School District 430
Sandwich school board (3 open seats): John Morse, Erik D. Englehart, Candace Oropeza and Traci Griffin-Lappe
Somonauk Community Unit School District 432
Somonauk school board (4 open seats): Corey Britt, Michael A. Short and Norman Johnson
DeKalb Regional Board of School Trustees
No candidates for any open position, according to the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Kishwaukee Community College District 523
Board of Trustees (2 open seats): David Lilja and Catherine Hopkins
DeKalb Park District
Board of Commissioners (3 open seats): Douglas Eaton, Dag Grada, Michelle Foster, Tia Anderson and Dean Bourdages
Franklin Township Park Commissioner
(Two open seats): Garry Willit, Steven Boettger and Christopher Brantley. Jennifer Block is the only candidate for a four-year unexpired term.
Genoa Township Park Commissioner
Board of Commissioners (3 open seats): Cori Ritchie and Antonio Amaya
Kingston Township Park Commissioner
Dan Nellans is running as a write-in candidate for the lone Kingston Township Park Commissioner seat.
Sandwich Park District Commissioner
Board of Commissioners (2 open seats): Eric Terlep and Daniel Hoyt; Theresa Wagner Jourdan is the lone candidate seeking to fill a four-year unexpired term.
Brad Knepper is vying for one of two open two-year unexpired terms. No one else is running for the second open position.
Sycamore Park District Commissioner
Board of Commissioners (2 open seats): Victoria Books, Chad Jewett and Denise Ackmann
Clinton Township Public Library
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Patrice Walker
Katherine Austin is seeking to fill one of two unexpired terms. No one else is seeking the second unexpired term.
Cortland Library Township
Richard “Papa” Bliss is running unopposed to fill a two-year unexpired term on the Cortland Library board of trustees. No one filed to run for the two open board seats, and one four-year unexpired term.
Earlville Library District
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Deborah Larson, Kathleen Eager, Mary Bender and Stephanie Eller
Flewellin Memorial Library in Shabbona
Board of Trustees (2 open seats): Joy Fay
Flewellin Library District referendum
“Shall a public library district, to be known as the Flewellin Memorial Library District, be established in part of DeKalb County and in part of Lee County and under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, may an aggregate extension, not to exceed $90,000, be made for the 2025 levy year?”
Genoa Library District
Library trustee (2 open seats): Mary Keys and Steven Veeneman
No one else filed to run for two four-year unexpired trustee terms.
Hinckley Public Library
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Karen Yaggie and Carol Kohler
Pameal Bryant-Keown is the lone candidate for a two-year unexpired library trustee term.
Kirkland Public Library
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Rebecca Lamont, Marian Termini and Lola J. Bauer
No one is running for a 4-year unexpired term.
Malta Township Library
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Jennifer Garden, Stephanie Brezovic and Laura Chessman
No candidates filed for a two-year unexpired term.
Maple Park District Library
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Patricia Lunardon. Anne Signorella is the only candidate running for one of four two-year unexpired terms.
Sandwich District Library
Board of Trustees (3 open seats): Elsie Campbell Morrissey, Nancy Schroeder, Jane Wolf, Heather Lee, Matthew Jones and Sheila Thompson
No one filed to run for a single two-year unexpired term.
Somonauk Public Library District
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Christopher J. Gresk, Marilyn Abbott, Thomas J. Harmon, James Beal, Kathleen Rhoden, Gina Skofich and Kinsay Smith
Afton Township
Afton Township Supervisor: Incumbent Randall J. Bourdages
Township Clerk: Leslie Matekaitis
Highway Commissioner (1 seat): Nelson Hillquist.
No candidates filed for Afton Township Assessor
Township trustee (4 open seats): Jack Walket, Erick Christensen, Craig Donnelly, Julie Barr and Steve Schramm
Clinton Township
Clinton Township Supervisor: Incumbent Mary Ann Erickson
Township Clerk: Incumbent Janel L. Erickson
Highway Commissioner: Scott E. Hunt
Township Assessor: Susan Kauffman
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Jerald Hipple, Kip Anderson, David Erickson and James H. Wassmann
No one is running for three open Clinton Community Building board of managers positions.
Cortland Township
Township Supervisor: Incumbent Danee Walker
Township clerk: Incumbent Ann Swedberg
Road Commissioner: Incumbent Gaylord Lockwood
Township Board of Trustees: Incumbents Stephan Ward, Diane Bechle, Jeff Sabin and Ashley Hartmann
Township Assessor: Incumbent Melody Monroe
DeKalb Township
Township Supervisor: Incumbent Mary Hess and Jim Luebke
Clerk: Joan Watson-Protano
Highway Commissioner: Craig Smith
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Incumbent Nancy Bradlo, Katherine McLaughlin, incumbent Dale Thurman and Gregory Akers
Township Assessor: Incumbent Richard Dyer
Franklin Township
Township Supervisor: Vincent Kilcullen
Clerk: Emily Mains is the only candidate for Franklin Township Clerk.
No one is running for Franklin Township Assessor.
Highway Commissioner: Blake Bratcher.
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Jeff A Lane, James E Bruch, Barry Aves and Mark Wittwer
Genoa Township
Township Supervisor: James Hanson.
Clerk: Joe Paulson
Township Assessor: Pauline Ruchti
Highway Commissioner: Keith Butz
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Jim Kuhn, Paul Kuhn, Jeff Engel and Brian Wallace
Kingston Township
Township Supervisor: Incumbent Ken Peterson, Kristine Arsenault and Deborah L. Todd
Clerk: Chuck Sanderson
Township Assessor: Incumbent Rachel Graf
Highway Commissioner: Incumbent Steven F Dombrowski.
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Ron Stojan, Scott Sanford, James Pearson and Tod Todd
Malta Township
Malta Township Supervisor: Thomas H. Plote is running unopposed to be Malta Township Supervisor.
Clerk: Mark E. Gommel
No one is running to be Malta Township Assessor.
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Adrian Butler, Edward Arndt, Justis Willrett, Kenneth R. Stark
Mayfield Township
Township Supervisor: Dale Sanderson
Clerk: Cheryl Sanderson
No one is running to be Mayfield township Assessor
Highway Commissioner: Bradley Driscoll
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Kevin Drake, Ryan Drake, Betsy Koehnke and Timothy Hall
Milan Township
Township Supervisor: James P. Murphy
Clerk: Stacy Johnson
No one is running for Milan Township Assessor.
Highway Commissioner: James Govig
Board of Trustees (1 open seat): Heath Headley, Joseph P. Herrmann, Steve Drendel, Rodney Kyler
Paw Paw Township
Township Supervisor: Amanda K. Hawk
Clerk: Wayne A. Davey
No one is running for Paw Paw Township Assessor.
The only candidate for Paw Paw Township Assessor is Jerry A. Burke.
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Gary V. Frieders, Neal F. Rogers, Donald. E. Sellers and Judith L. Svendsen
Pierce Township
No one filed to run for Pierce Township Supervisor or Assessor.
Clerk: Patricia Wielert
Highway Commissioner: Greg Friedlund
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Robert M. Coyle, Dan Klein, Brad Cessna and Ronald Ness
Sandwich Township
Township Supervisor: No one’s name will appear on the ballot, but Dennis J. Miller and Ashley Murphy filed as write-in candidates.
Clerk: Starr Frederick
Assessor: Jim Miller and Sheila A. Johnson
Highway Commissioner: Robert D Davis Jr. Jerry Osland also had filed to run, but he died Feb. 2, according to his obituary. His name will not appear on the ballot out of respect for him, according to the county clerk’s office.
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Jeremy Moss, Larry Hake, Mark Weismiller and Ryan Claymor Moody
Shabbona Township
Township Supervisor: Grant Bend
Clerk: Melanie Berg
No one is running for Shabbona Township Assessor.
Highway Commissioner: Gene Larson
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Morgan Buchholz, Rnady Nehring, Kenneth “Mark” Flewellin and Greg S. Fleming
Somonauk Township
Township Supervisor: Barry Smith
Clerk: Christopher P. Morphey
No one is running for Somonauk Township Assessor.
Highway Commissioner: Aaron Stahl
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Christopher Frederick, Kyle R. Reuter and Charles C. Kessler
South Grove Township
Township Supervisor: Lisa Bergeron and Barbara Koehnke
Clerk: Dawn E. Carlson
No one is running for South Grove Township Assessor.
Highway Commissioner: Durand Pigott
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Darrel W. Kingsnorth, James Hutcheson, Brian McQueen and Timothy Gulotta
South Grove Township referenda
South Grove Township voters will be asked two questions related to taxes on their ballots:
“Shall South Grove Township, Illinois be authorized to levy a new tax for IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) purposes and have an additional tax of 0.2181% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein extended for such purposes?”
Second referendum:
“Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation for South Grove Township, Illinois be increased by an additional amount equal to 7.8% above the limiting rate for the purpose of IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) for levy year 2025 and be equal to O.30039% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for the levy year 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028.”
Squaw Grove Township
Township Supervisor: Elizabeth Koenig
Clerk: Karen Kuppler
Township Assessor: Katrina Moyer
Highway Commissioner: Andrew Bark, Joshua P. Jungels and Peter Niles
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): George Bullard, Linda M. Herrmann, John Long and Steven Navalany
Sycamore Township
Township Supervisor: Amy L. Mathey
Clerk: Kathleen I Lampkins
Township Assessor: Kevin Schnetzler
Highway Commissioner: William J Powers
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Terri Lozier, James Holliday, Kevin Wynn and George Diedrich
Victor Township
Township Supervisor: Mary Kohler
Clerk: Bradley G. Anderson
Highway Commissioner: Mark Coultrip
Board of Trustees (4 open seats): Matthew Nisbet, Kevin Sawyer, Jacques Wesson and Kelly Palmatier
Hampshire Fire Protection District
Board of Trustees (2 open seats): Steven L Gustafson and Edward “Eddie” Saunders
Leland Fire Protection District
Board of Trustees (1 open seat): Karen L Short
Sandwich Fire Protection District
Board of Trustees (1 open seat): Judd Webber, Justin Gifford, Bill Novicki and Jacob Johns
Multi-Township Assessors
Afton and Pierce townships: Jay W. Walker
Somonauk and Victor townships: Dean Lundeen
No candidates filed to run for Multi-Township Assessor for Malta and Milan townships, Mayfield and South Grove Townships, and Paw Paw and Shabbona townships.