Development key issue in Kane District 15 race

The two candidates vying for a District 15 seat on the Kane County Board know the issues facing their portion of the county are unique.

Living in a largely rural area where much of the land is unincorporated, the district's constituents have a strong focus on history and preservation, said incumbent Barb Wojnicki, a St. Charles Republican who will face Democratic challenger Lucas Strom on Nov. 6.

The residents are some of the greatest supporters of maintaining open space, she said, and the county often has a hands-on role in addressing their problems such as drainage and flooding.

Strom, from Maple Park, said the district also is one of the faster-growing parts of the county. He wants to make sure development is strategic and appropriate.

As an agricultural business executive who also operates his family's farm, Strom said his professional background and knowledge of the community makes him a good fit to represent District 15 residents. Among his goals are ensuring the county's budgetary issues are handled on a case-by-case basis rather than making rudimentary cuts across departments.

Having been heavily involved in several conservation-based organizations, Wojnicki said she agrees the county should only be allowing land uses that are beneficial to the area. She pointed to her role in successfully relocating a county diagnostic center to a safer location.

The Maxxam Partners drug addiction treatment center, on the other hand, is a project Wojnicki does not believe makes sense for its proposed location at the former Glenwood School for Boys near Campton Hills.

Wojnicki said she fought hard for two years to oppose allowing the controversial facility to open at the site on Silver Glen Road. To her dismay, the county board earlier this year approved paying $5.6 million and granting Maxxam a special use permit to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit.

"The county has a lot of good reasons why it was turned down before," Wojnicki said, noting a handful of other groups have taken legal action in an attempt to block the facility. "So the drama continues. It'll go on, I think, for a long time."

Watching the process unfold was one of the main reasons Strom decided to run for county board, he said, and he doesn't believe issues surrounding the drug treatment facility should have ever gotten to this point.

Greater leadership could have helped steer the process and influence a majority of the board, Strom said.

"It's been a disaster for the last couple of years, and I would have taken a much stronger and active role to achieve a better outcome," he said. "We need new and stronger board representation. I am running because I will provide that."