Dozens of McHenry County candidates line up to file for 2022 election

Come rain, sleet or snow – and plenty of it came – McHenry County political candidates lined up Monday morning outside the county clerk’s office for their chance to have their name first on the ballot.

Dozens stood in a line outside the office prior to its 8 a.m. opening, with the first, sheriff candidate Tony Colatorti, saying he arrived around 6 a.m. His first time running for office, Colatorti said showing up that early shows his determination and will.

“I wanted to get here first,” he said. “I’m proud of what I’m doing and I’m here for the people.”

Meanwhile, his opponent, Robb Tadelman, the county’s current undersheriff, was toward the front of the line as well. This also represents his first time running for office, he said. With his opponent just feet away and both having an equal chance to be first on the ballot, Tadelman said he enjoys the challenge of competing for the position of sheriff.

“I’m an old-school athlete, so I like a little bit of competition,” he said.

Those in line early Monday ranged from a variety of positions, as well as in their experience, with both incumbents and challengers getting out and into the 8 a.m. filer club. As a result, those in line at the time the clerk’s office opened will get to have their name first on the ballot. For races where multiple competitors showed up, a lottery will take place March 17 to determine the order.

The entire McHenry County Board along with a handful of countywide positions and state offices will be on the ballot this year. The County Board itself is going to look much different after the upcoming election, as all but one of its 24 members, County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, are up for election. After November, only 18 seats will be left.

Various positions up for election have also seen some changes due to new legislation, ranging from minor to significant. The state also strengthened its requirements for candidates’ statements of economic interest, which officials said created some confusion for those filing.

The COVID-19 pandemic delaying census results, which then delayed redistricting and remapping across the state, and then subsequently led to this year’s primary being pushed back. Instead of taking place in March or April, it will now be held June 28.

This shrank the window of campaigning for the general election in November, County Clerk Joe Tirio said.

“We’ve got a compressed election cycle,” Tirio said. “We really have some tight timeframes.”

McHenry County Board

County Board member Michael Vijuk, D-Cary, who currently represents District 1, is seeking his second term on the board, but he said this is his third time running for a public office. Even though he has previously competed in an election, he said he thinks the excitement has remained.

“I feel more experienced,” he said. “I think the level of anxiousness is maybe slightly less.”

Carl Kamienski, a Republican challenger running for District 6 on the County Board, said he was inspired to run by Chuck Wheeler, a board member who died in 2020, and state Sen. Craig Wilcox, who won a seat on the County Board in 2016 before being appointed and then eventually elected to his current role in 2018.

While this is his first time running, Kamienski said he’s been heavily involved in local politics in the past, even working on other campaigns.

“Seeing what’s going on in the County Board, here’s a chance to continue [Wilcox and Wheeler’s] work,” he said.

Thomas Pavelka, a challenger for District 2 of the County Board, was passed up twice for an appointment to the board despite having been the Democrats’ top choice to fill two separate seats.

Now, he’s taking it into his own hands, he said. Going into the campaign, he said he’s excited to get out and talk with constituents.

“It’s a decent-sized district, so there’s a lot of ground to cover,” he said.

County Board member John Collins, D-Crystal Lake, was one of those appointed instead of Pavelka. He said Monday it feels different knowing it’s no longer about just those with the power to appoint. Now, it comes down to being validated by the county’s voters, he said.

Having been on the board for about a year now, Collins said he feels like he knows a lot more than he did and has a much better idea of what the issues are. He said he’s not nervous about the amount of seats up for grabs being lowered, calling it the “right step.”

“I think that small government is good,” he said. “We have so many layers of it that … people don’t really know in many cases what government does. That’s something I’m learning the more I’m talking to people.”

John Reinert, a former board member who lost out in the previous election, is running again to try and win back his seat. He said he thinks people are seeking more of a conservative set of values on the board.

In looking back at his loss in 2020, Reinert said it’s hard to say he took anything from it given the unique circumstances surrounding it, particularly with the coronavirus pandemic and the presidential election.

“I think it was a very unique year,” he said. “Hopefully this year is not so partisan.”

Countywide offices

Drew Georgi is running to unseat Tirio for county clerk, his second go at the office. Georgi was previously a village trustee in Hebron. He’s also ran for County Board in the past. He said he doesn’t think the position of county clerk should be partisan.

“This time I have a primary challenger, so that’s a little different,” he said. “What I need to do is make sure my skills and knowledge are brought to the floor. … I eat and sleep election laws.”

Since his last run, Georgi has helped set up a McHenry County chapter of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, which he chairs. The group is designed to promote various awareness of elections and policy surrounding elections, such as problems with computerized voting.

Tirio, who is tasked with helping run the county’s elections while also competing in them, said since 2020, the world of elections has “been turned on its head.” Given the pandemic, and the changing of various election laws both in Illinois and across the country, he said it’s been a challenge.

He added that running for election while helping manage it will mean he has to take a step back and be more hands-off. And after being involved in most components of it in recent years, he said that will be different.

“It’ll be hard for me,” he said.

Diana Hartmann, the county’s current regional superintendent, was appointed to her role in January, but she will have to fight to keep her seat this year. She said that such a quick turnaround created a lot to both learn and do, as she had to get acquainted with both the job and then campaigning for it.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I really like getting out to meet everybody and actually enjoyed it.”

Hartmann said she has never run for public office, having only been a teacher and administrator in school districts. In deciding to go for the job, she said she felt somebody needed to step up and work on the issues she said had cropped up in public education.

“The office needs to be cleaned up and cleaned out and more services brought to the office,” she said. “This is a time in education that there are multiple things on the table to discuss and debate …. From masking, to rules and regulations in schools, to remote learning, to [critical race theory] …. I think this is a very important time to be involved.”

Other races in the county include the county treasurer, which has Democrat Amin Karim and Republican Donna Kurtz running. Incumbent Treasurer Glenda Miller previously announced she is not running for another term.