Sarto gives Democrats a candidate in Kane chairman race
Former Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto will run for Kane County Board chairman, filling the Democratic void in the contest to this point.
Sarto announced his entry into the race Wednesday with a list of his tenure in government and promises to unveil a full platform in coming weeks.
“We have an increasingly divided government in Kane County,” Sarto said. “I run with a sense of purpose to work together with the board members of both parties to find real solutions to county government's challenges.”
Sarto has experience dealing with some of the infighting that's arisen on the county board in recent years. His term as Carpentersville's village president was marked by similar arguments on the village board.
Sarto said that experience prepared him to work with both Democrats and Republicans as well as tackle a budget in tough economic times. The biography Sarto handed out at his announcement paints him as “the driving force behind a capital program in Carpentersville to improve the roads and infrastructure of the village.
“He worked with staff to tackle financial problems that had plagued the village for many years,” the bio continues. “Those financial problems were solved.”
Sarto pointed to his 28 years as a field auditor with the Illinois Comptroller's office as a big reason he's the most qualified candidate to steer Kane County's budget in the right direction. The bio describes his work for the comptroller as that of “consumer watchdog for the people of Illinois.”
“I do understand the times we're living in today,” Sarto said. “People are sensitive that government is not as responsive now as it used to be. We do have to listen to our residents.”
Sarto said he'll kick his campaign into high gear, especially on the fundraising side, as he's several weeks behind his GOP rivals, Kevin Burns and Chris Lauzen, in getting his name and ideas out to the public.
Kane County Board member Hollie Lindgren, of Carpentersville, is supporting Sarto's candidacy.
“He's a very honest, caring person,” Lindgren said. “He's good people. I respect Bill. I think he'd be a wonderful person to run Kane County.”
Sarto said he's entering the race now after considering other political opportunities. He was a candidate to become Kane County's representative on the Metra board in June.
If Sarto wins, he'd be the first Democrat to lead the county board possibly since the very first chairman back in 1850.