Stolman may replace Schmidt as Lake County Board's leader

Lake County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt's recent election to the state Senate means the 23-member county panel must choose a new leader in December.

Since Election Day, several potential replacements have tested the waters, nosing around to see if they'd have the 12 votes needed to fill the chairman's seat at the head of the boardroom.

Although few Lake County Board members would speak on the record to the Daily Herald about the candidates for chairman, one front-runner has emerged: veteran board member David Stolman, a Buffalo Grove Republican who now serves as the panel's vice chairman.

Many board members believe he will have the votes needed to win the post, regardless of whether other candidates are in the mix.

While trying not to sound too confident, Stolman said replacing Schmidt as the board's leader “would be an absolute honor.”

“I would just be hopeful that my board members would see within me the attributes of continuing Suzi's tradition,” Stolman, 61, said.

In Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, voters elect the county board chief. But in Lake and McHenry counties, the members choose their top leader after voters have their say in general election.

Lake County Board members will meet Dec. 6 to choose a chairman and a vice chairman.

And since the board members also comprise the county's forest preserve district board, they'll switch hats and choose that panel's president and vice president that day, too.

Republican Bonnie Thomson Carter of Ingleside has been the forest board's president since 2002, but she said she's not seeking another term. Libertyville Republican Carol Calabresa is its vice president.

All four leadership assignments are for two years.

The eventual appointee is sure to be a Republican because the GOP maintains a 13-10 majority over the Democrats. Whether the Republicans build a leadership coalition with the Democrats or shut them out of top posts which happened in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2008 remains to be seen.

The last Democrat to hold a leadership post on the county board or forest board was Angelo Kyle, of Waukegan, who was the forest board's vice president from 2006 to 2008.

Schmidt has served as county board chairwoman since 2000, a record five terms. A Lake Villa resident, she has pledged to leave the panel before being sworn in as a state senator in January, so she'll remain on the board for the leadership vote.

Stolman, a board member since 1992, represents the panel's 20th District in southern Lake County. He is one of the board's more senior members and has held a variety of committee leadership posts through the years, including stints chairing the finance and community development committees.

Stolman's political tenure hasn't been without controversy. He was criticized by local activists and political rivals after a 2006 Daily Herald inquiry revealed he had missed more than 70 percent of the forest district's board and committee meetings between 2004 and spring 2006.

At the time, Stolman said schedule conflicts contributed to the absences. He also said some forest board meetings “just last and last and last” and concern “inconsequential matters.”

Since 2006, the forest board changed its meeting schedule so board meetings are held immediately after the county board sessions. Committee meetings have been consolidated, too.

Stolman's attendance has improved since the 2006 story ran. The issue, he said, is “way behind me.”

“I certainly learned a lesson about attending meetings and making your feelings known,” Stolman explained.

The county board chairman is paid nearly $82,000 a year, double a regular board member.

Whereas Schmidt is a retired teacher, Stolman is a practicing attorney specializing in real estate law. Some board members have questioned if he'll have the time to be as active a leader as Schmidt has been.

“Suzi's going to be some pretty big shoes to fill,” said Craig Taylor, a Lake Zurich Republican who was appointed to the board in 2009 and won election this month. “There is so much to be done that to say it's a part-time job is not fully understanding what we do.”

If named chairman, Stolman said he'll be committed to giving the job the time it requires.

Stolman isn't the only county commissioner eyeing the chairman's post. Gurnee-area Republican Steve Carlson, who won re-election this month, has voiced interest in the job, too.

Carlson said he'll support whoever is chosen for the job Dec. 6.

“And I'm looking forward to working in a bipartisan manner to address the problems facing the citizens of Lake County,” Carlson added.

Kyle said he didn't know if the Democrats would nominate one of their own for the county board chairmanship. He expects Democrats will be in the mix for the other top posts, however, and said it's time for a Democrat to return to county leadership.

“It certainly would demonstrate a spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship,” Kyle said.