Kendall County Board expected to elect Matt Kellogg as new chairman

YORKVILLE – Six incumbent members of the Kendall County Board will be joined by four newly elected colleagues as the entire group takes the oath of office on Monday, Dec. 5.

The reconstituted board will then select a new county board chairman and Kendall County Forest Preserve District president.

Matt Kellogg of rural Yorkville is expected to be elected board chairman and Brian DeBolt of Plano is seen as the most likely to become president of the forest preserve board.

When asked, Kellogg said he is interested in the job and indicated that he believes he has the necessary support on the board. DeBolt was more circumspect but did not rule out the possibility.

Both men appear to be natural fits for the roles.

Kellogg has been serving up until now as the county board’s finance committee chairman and has been running county board meetings whenever board Chairman Scott Gryder was absent.

DeBolt has considerable experience in the school construction world and as an auctioneer, giving him knowledge of both the county and its history as well as business practices.

When asked, board members Scott Gengler and Ruben Rodriguez, both of Yorkville, said they are supporting Kellogg and DeBolt for the respective chairman and forest preserve roles.

Board members Dan Koukol of Oswego and Elizabeth Flowers of Montgomery said they have not made up their minds, as did Jason Peterson, who is among the four new board members and will be vacating his seat on the Yorkville City Council.

The others joining the board include Millbrook Trustee Seth Wormley, Zach Bachman of Montgomery and Brooke Shanley of Aurora.

Almost since the time Gryder, the board’s chairman, announced he would be running for the 14th Congressional District seat and not another term on the county board, it has been Kellogg’s name that routinely came up among county insiders as the likely next chairman.

As the board bid farewell to Gryder at its Nov. 29 meeting, Kellogg not only praised the departing chairman but signaled his own willingness to take on the role.

“I guess I’m here because of you,” Kellogg said to Gryder. “I didn’t know I had the passion for this.”

Kellogg has been lauded by colleagues for his work to distribute federal COVID-19 relief monies to Kendall County small businesses and non-profit agencies, as well as an ability to keep meeting discussions focused on the issue at hand.

If there is another board member who is interested in chairman’s job, he or she has been keeping it a secret.

The Kendall County Board is comprised of 10 members, five each elected from two districts, with the boundary line running north-south down the center of the county.

From District 1, covering the western half of the county, are DeBolt, Gengler, Rodriguez, Peterson and Wormley.

District 2 covers the eastern half, and its representatives will be Kellogg, Koukol, Flowers, Bachman and Shanley.

While county board members have been striving to de-emphasize partisan political labels, it is of note that the 7-3 Republican-Democratic division on the board remains the same after the Nov. 8 election.

Democrats Cesich and Vickers are leaving the board, while fellow party members Bachman and Shanley are joining Democrat Flowers, the top District 2 vote-getter, as board members.

Kellogg, DeBolt, Gentler, Rogriguez, Koukol, Peterson and Wormley are Republicans.

If elected as forest preserve president, DeBolt would replace Judy Gilmour of Yorkville, who is stepping down from the county board.

While technically separate entities, the county board and the forest preserve board are composed of the same 10 members.