Schmidt looks back at Lake Co. career

As she prepared to end her 10-year run as Lake County Board chairman, Suzi Schmidt had an office to clean out.

So there she was, in a turtleneck sweater and blue jeans, sorting through papers, awards, budget binders, photographs and countless other knickknacks and mementos that had accumulated in her 10th-floor office at the county government center in Waukegan.

“I'm getting there,” Schmidt said. “Just cleaning my desk out is a nightmare.”

Schmidt, a Lake Villa Republican, will leave the county board next month so she can take over as the state senator for Illinois' 31st District. She won the post by defeating Democratic incumbent Michael Bond in November.

During a special meeting last week, Schmidt was replaced as the county board's leader by Buffalo Grove Republican David Stolman.

Schmidt recently sat down with the Daily Herald to talk about her 22 years on the county board, her decade as its leader and the county's future.

Q: How has the Lake County Board changed since you were first elected in 1988?

A: I always tell everybody, always treat people the way you want to be treated. Because it wasn't that way for years (on the board). ... You couldn't get a microphone to talk on the floor of the board if you weren't one of the anointed ones. You couldn't get a paycheck. Your checks would go elsewhere or you'd get empty envelopes ... We didn't have automatic deposit in those days, so your check would get mailed to you. And if there was a campaign going on, you didn't get your check. And sometimes you'd get your envelope and there'd be nothing in it.

I don't think it was because I was a woman. I think it was because we weren't in the majority on the board. And it was just to kind of tweak us as much as possible.

(When I became chairman) I made sure the office was very open to anybody who wanted to come in and sit down. I just always made sure that people knew this was their office, not just my office. Because I never thought of the chairman as the leader. I always thought of the chairman as a facilitator of the wishes of the board.

Q: How has Lake County changed in the 22 years you've been on the board?

A: Of course it's grown in population by quite a bit. And because of the purchase of lots of great forest preserves, we have preserved a lot of the beauty of the county.

We are trying to do more road projects so people can get around the county a little bit easier.

I think the migration of people from (Chicago) has changed the kind of services that we need to offer. The health department has grown by leaps and bounds. ... And we're now feeling the pains of the economy not being so great, so the challenge is now to help more people stay healthy.

Q: When you were elected chairman in 2000, did you think that you'd hold that job for 10 years?

A: Nope. First of all, I was the first full-time chairman. I made it a full-time job. Everybody who was chairman before me had another full-time position.

Q: Why was it important to you to make it a full-time job?

A: I just saw the need to make it a full-time job. How can you know what's going on in this county unless you're here and seeing it? And I think it's important for the staff to know there's someone at the helm taking it seriously.

There's always something going on. There are things to sign, there are letters to send out. There are requests for things.

Q: What was your biggest accomplishment as chairman?

A: I think my biggest accomplishment was surrounding the county with good staff. I think it is so important to have good staff on board to carry out the job of the county board. (County Administrator) Barry Burton's been great, and (Finance Director) Gary Gordon I don't even want to name people because there are so many of them who have been fantastic and have made us look good. They all do their jobs.

Q: What's been your biggest disappointment?

A: My biggest disappointment is not getting everybody, in all bodies of government, working together. It's gotten a lot better. When I got here, the Municipal League didn't talk to the county, (and) the state legislators didn't talk to the county. But we still don't have, I feel, every body of government on the same page to help each other out. I understand government really well. And I'm hoping that by going to the state I will help (ease) some of that disappointment and maybe we can get the state to work with the county and the municipalities better. And I have high hopes for the federal government, that we will get everybody working together.

I haven't had many disappointments. Because realistically, you can't do everything. You have goals, and you try to do them. But you understand you can't do everything. You can't let it eat away at you. You have to move on to the next thing, and hopefully that will work.

Q: What do you think the biggest challenge for the county board will be in the years to come?

A: I think it will be financial. The county is financially stable. It is not always easy, and I think that will continue. And I think finances are going to continue to be tough. Keeping the services at the level people want or need is going to be the challenge. But I'm leaving knowing the county is in a good place.

Q: What's your advice for your successor?

A: Don't take yourself too seriously. There are 23 members here, and everybody has their own personalities. And treat people they way you want to be treated.

These are all duly elected people who can do their jobs quite well. It's not rocket science. ... It's respect.