‘Connie’ Shanahan latest candidate for Mundelein-area county board seat
Fremont Township board member Cornelius “Connie” Shanahan on Monday said he’s running for the Lake County Board’s 10th District seat.
Shanahan’s announcement to the Daily Herald quickly followed Mundelein Trustee Terri Voss’ declaration of intent to run for the post, now held by Mundelein-area Republican Diana O’Kelly.
O’Kelly, who in April was elected Fremont Township supervisor, has said she won’t seek another term on the county board.
Both Shanahan and Voss are running as Republicans.
Shanahan said it would be an honor to run for the post as the GOP nominee.
The theme of Shanahan’s emailed announcement was fiscal responsibility.
“The board needs to keep spending under control and not spend money they do not have as other units of government have done,” Shanahan said. “All units of local government need to remember the source of revenue they spend comes from the pockets of the local taxpayers.”
Candidates seeking county, state or federal office in Illinois in 2014 have a few months before they have to file the paperwork that would make their bids official.
Shanahan, 57, joined the township board in 2009 and was re-elected this spring. His term expires in 2017.
Shanahan said he would resign the township post if elected to the county board. Simultaneous service on both boards is allowed under Illinois law.
He’s also the township chairman for the GOP.
Shanahan served on the Fremont Township Public Library board from 2005 to 2009.
O’Kelly has served on the county board since 1994 and is one of its senior members. She last won the 10th District seat in 2012, running unopposed for a 2-year term.
The county board doubles as the Lake County Forest Preserve District board.
The 10th District includes parts of Mundelein, Round Lake Park, Wauconda, Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove.
When the district boundaries were redrawn following the 2010 Census, the new lines gave Republican candidates a significant advantage.
O’Kelly led the county board committee that developed the map.
A Democratic Party candidate hasn’t surfaced.