Lake Co.'s Schmidt, Carter seeking to retain leadership posts
Longtime Lake County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt and her counterpart on the county's forest board, Bonnie Thomson Carter, will seek to retain those top jobs during special meetings next week.
Schmidt and Carter on Wednesday confirmed they hope to extend their tenures as leaders of the two panels, which consist of the same 23 members, for two more years. The groups will meet Monday, Dec. 1, in special sessions to choose their chiefs.
Although both Schmidt and Carter know they have supporters on their boards, neither is sure if other members will challenge their bids.
"Anything can happen," said Carter, an Ingleside Republican wrapping up her third term as the forest district's president. "It's a long time between now and Monday. I don't count any votes until they are made."
Schmidt, who's finishing her record fourth term as county board chairwoman, echoed Carter's uncertainty. The Lake Villa Republican is particularly concerned about the board's Democratic caucus, which remains a minority but gained four additional seats in this month's election after contentious and occasionally ugly campaigns.
When the new commissioners are sworn in Monday, the boards will have 13 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Combined with the Democrats' recent campaign tactics, that shift could lead to some ill will on the board and affect the leadership votes and other decisions, such as committee assignments, Schmidt said.
"I don't know if people can get past that," she said.
One of the incoming Democrats, Melinda Bush of Grayslake, doubts her party is going to field its own candidates for the posts. She assumes Carter and Schmidt will be the nominees and intends to support them.
"When it comes to leadership, it's the right people for the job - not the party," Bush said.
"I think (Suzi) and Bonnie have been fair in the past," Bush said.
Bush hopes Democrats will be considered for other top posts, such as county board vice chairman, forest board vice president or any of the committee leadership spots.
The vice chairman and vice president will be selected Monday with full votes. Committee assignments are made later by the boards' leaders.
Two Democrats - Audrey Nixon of North Chicago and Carol Spielman of Highland Park - now lead county board committees, although Spielman is retiring. Democrat Angelo Kyle of Waukegan has been vice president of the forest board since 2006.
Another incoming Democrat, Pat Carey of Grayslake, would like to see the vice-chair and committee assignments reflect the boards' 13-10 political margin. She also hopes Monday's votes on the top posts don't fall along party lines.
Even so, she wasn't as willing as Bush to publicly back Schmidt or Carter ahead of Monday's meetings.
"I'm going to wait until Monday and cast my vote at that time," Carey said. "I will wait to see who's nominated."
Veteran board member Diana O'Kelly, a Mundelein Republican, isn't aware of any other potential candidates - and they usually surface by now as interested board members lobby for votes.
As for the second-in-command slots and the committee assignments, O'Kelly said political turnover - six members are leaving the boards because they lost on Election Day or retired - reduced the number of qualified candidates.
"I think we have to look at the talent pool that we have now on the board," she said. "We lost some extremely experienced members, and the freshmen have no experience."
The county board meets first at 9 a.m. Monday at the county government center, 18 N. County St., Waukegan. The forest board's meeting will follow immediately, at the same location.