Lou Ness, who lost McHenry County Board seat in November, mounts write-in bid for Woodstock City Council

Former McHenry County Board member Lou Ness is running for the Woodstock City Council as a write-in candidate.

Ness, a Woodstock resident, represented District 7, which covers parts of Woodstock, Wonder Lake, Bull Valley, McHenry and Greenwood, on the board. Ness was among five Democrats on the county board until she lost reelection reelection in November to Republican Paul Thomas of Wonder Lake.

Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner endorsed Ness during her county board run last year. Turner is running unopposed for a second term as mayor. In contrast to the County Board, the Woodstock City Council is nonpartisan.

Ness said she was approached a while back about potentially running for mayor, but she didn’t want to challenge Turner. But Ness thought about it and opted to file to run as a write-in candidate for City Council.

The candidates for City Council who will appear on the ballot are incumbents Tom Nierman and Bob Seegers and four other challengers, Joseph “John” Puzzo, Theodore “Theo” Dice, Gregory A. Hanson and Joshua S. Fourdyce. Incumbent council member Gordie Tebo opted not to run for reelection.

The seven candidates are vying for three seats; the City Council in Woodstock is elected at-large rather than by ward, so the top three vote-getters will win. The filing period for Woodstock city offices was back in October, when Ness was campaigning for county board.

Workforce housing is among the issues Ness said she would prioritize if she were to be elected. Ness co-chaired the county’s Workforce Housing Workgroup alongside county board member Pam Althoff of McHenry. County Board Chair Mike Buehler created the workgroup in 2023, which issued a report last year finding that the county needed more workforce housing.

She said she’s met with Turner and Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian about workforce housing and they’re willing to sit down and talk about it and what it could look like.

“I’m still doing my work,” Ness said.

Ness learned about governing while she was on the County Board and that time was good training for City Council.

Other priorities for Ness if she were to be elected to City Council include strengthening infrastructure and stabilizing small business development. Ness, who owns a small business, said the city is very supportive of small businesses, but wants to make sure the city is communicating with Square business owners. Groundhog Day is a good example of everyone working together to make an event successful, Ness said.

Ness said the city has to talk about and address aging infrastructure.

In addition to her time on the county board, Ness, a veteran, has been involved in veterans groups. She serves as the commander of the Woodstock American Legion and is on the board of the American Veterans Alliance. Her daughter is state Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Crystal Lake.

Local elections in McHenry County will be held April 1, with the exception of some townships, who have partisan primaries on Feb. 25.

Ness isn’t the only County Board person running for local office. Former County Board member Theresa Meshes, a Fox River Grove Democrat who lost her reelection bid to Algonquin Republican Pat Sullivan, is running for the Fox River Grove library board as a nonpartisan candidate. Meshes is among four candidates running for four seats.