Endorsement: Lawlor for Lake County Board Dist. 18
For Lake County Board District 18, incumbent Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor is recommended. Challenger Gerri Songer, a schoolteacher, is also running for the position.
Lawlor was first elected to the board in 2009, and has served as chairman since 2012. Songer is a teacher in Township High School District 214.
Lawlor co-chairs the Lake County Mental Health Coalition, an initiative to discover more about the need for mental health coverage in the spirit of offering care to those who otherwise would end up in emergency rooms, jail, or perhaps homeless. Lawlor rescinded his support for the Route 53 extension plan when he determined the financial projections were inadequate and would have left the tollway with tens of millions of dollars in added costs and saddled the region with potential environmental problems.
He has been active as Lake County Board chairman, leading initiatives to retain employers both large and small, and he supports efforts that could allow him to work with neighboring McHenry County to find potential opportunities to consolidate functions and eliminate duplications.
Songer expresses deep concern for freight trains running through the county bearing hazardous material, and she has interest in other financial and environmental issues confronting the county. But she can't match Lawlor's depth of commitment and experience.