McConnaughay in Senate District 33, GOP
In the 33rd Senate district, Pingree Grove resident and former trustee Cliff Surges is competing against St. Charles resident Karen McConnaughay, the current Kane County Board chairwoman, for the Republican nomination. The district straddles northeastern Kane and southeastern McHenry counties, covering parts of Huntley, Carpentersville, St. Charles, West Dundee and South Elgin and several others. Both candidates say the right things. They will work across the aisle. They would not vote to extend the income tax increase. They would work to stop big votes in lame-duck sessions. They want to fix the pension and Medicaid crises. Surges suggests McConnaughay is guilty of pay-to-play politics because she accepts donations from people who get county business. McConnaughay says no one gets anything in return for a donation. She accuses Surges of lacking leadership and public service standards because he repeatedly paid his business and property taxes late along with a late penalty fine. The debate can get ugly. We encourage McConnaughay to quit taking money from county contractors, but she clearly is far more experienced. She is the one with a track record for working with local and state officials as well as a diverse county board to get things done. She gets our recommendation.