Aurora Democrat resigns Kane Coounty Board seat

Kane County Board member Ron Ford will resign his post May 22. His departure opens a seat on the board that represents portions of North Aurora and Aurora.

Ford is a residential remodeling contractor and owns his own small business. An increasing workload at his company and a desire to be more active in his church and present at home fueled his resignation, Ford said Tuesday.

"After being up to 11 o'clock a lot of nights, I just took a look at everything and (decided) this is not something I really wanted to do," Ford said. "I really enjoyed it here. Even with the controversies, at the end of the day, we still talked to each other and went after what's best for Kane County."

Ford found himself in the thick of budget battles as a freshman board member in 2008, when the economy really began to bottom out. He said navigating those difficult choices and all the personalities and politics involved was one of his most satisfying accomplishments as a board member. He also cited his involvement in the county's massive technology upgrade throughout the judicial and public safety system as one of his political career highlights because of the efficiencies and speed the project will instill in the legal system.

Ford said with his three children all approaching college age or older, and his pension benefits maxing out, the timing is right to start a new phase of life.

"It just became the best decision for the family," Ford said.

His current term expires in November 2016. That means Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen must appoint someone to fill the vacancy. Lauzen just completed a similar process about two months ago in naming Maria Vazquez to fill the unexpired term of her husband, Jesse Vazquez, who died unexpectedly. Traditionally, local Democratic Party officials would put forward their own choice for the seat, which the county board chairman and board would then appoint to the seat. But the process with Vazquez showed the party's choice may not be of paramount importance in Lauzen's selection or the board's confirmation.

Ford said he has a couple of candidates in mind who he will vet with Lauzen. Lauzen said Tuesday he hasn't fully considered what process to use to fill Ford's seat.

"What a loss," Lauzen said of Ford's resignation. "There are some really charming, confident people in this business. He's one of them."