Candidate field growing for Lake County Board races
This story has been updated to reflect that Thomas Maillard of Waukegan is also an announced candidate in the Democratic primary for the 62nd District state representative seat.
The number of candidates running for Lake County Board is growing, while one veteran member will seek state office rather than reelection.
And the political landscape is changing, as the number of board districts has been reduced to 19 from 21 for the general election. District boundaries also have been redrawn as required by state law after the decennial census.
That means incumbents could face each other in some areas. Also, two redrawn districts have no sitting board members and are up for grabs.
County board members double as Lake County Forest Preserve District commissioners. The districts for both have the same boundaries.
Six incumbent Democrats previously said they will be running for reelection, and two Democratic newcomers also will be running in other districts. Democrats have a 15-6 majority on the panels.
Until recently, Ingleside resident Republican J. Kevin Hunter, who was appointed to the board last summer, was the only Republican to have announced a run.
He was joined last week on the Republican side by Adam Schlick, who is serving his second term as trustee on the Wauconda village board. Schlick will be running in the newly drawn District 2 in the southwestern part of the county. It's one of two districts in which no sitting board member lives.
"On the local level we have to make sure the policies we enact have the best interest of all county residents, not just a section," he said.
On Wednesday, Ann Maine, a Republican from Lincolnshire who has served on the county board since 2002, said she will be seeking reelection. She'll be running in the redrawn District 3, which includes much of her current 21st District and parts of Green Oaks, Libertyville, Vernon Hills and Wildwood.
Maine said keeping the county's tax levy flat as well as increasing trails and reducing flooding will be priorities moving forward.
Also in District 3, Green Oaks pediatrician Charles "Chuck" Nozicka announced his candidacy on the Democratic ticket. It is his first run for public office.
"As a pediatrician and community advocate, I hope to contribute my years of medical and community advocacy experience to the Lake County Board," he said.
Nozicka said priorities will be preserving forest preserves and green spaces, securing attainable housing for veterans and seniors, increasing mental health services and ensuring transparency.
Veteran board member Terry Wilke, a Democrat from Round Lake Beach, will run for the 62nd state representative seat being vacated by Democrat Sam Yingling.
Wilke has served on the county board for 14 years, four of which he doubled as Avon Township supervisor. Wilke said he has been president the past five years of Avon Cares food pantry, a charitable organization that served 17,000 people last year.
"While we have accomplished a great deal on the county board, it has become clear that many of our problems can only be addressed at the state level," he said.
Wilke will face Grayslake Trustee Laura Dias and Thomas Maillard in the June 28 Democratic primary for Yingling's seat.
Dias, who described herself as a "mother, former public school teacher and small-business owner," announced her candidacy mid-December.
She described her experience helping students in high-poverty schools succeed, noting "I wholeheartedly believe that the American dream can only be achieved with high-quality education for all. That's where it starts and that's where the focus should be."
She said she has helped make "environmentally an economically sustainable improvements" in Grayslake. She said she would broaden her work at the local level to find "innovative and collaborative" solutions to district issues.
Maillard was a lifelong Mundelein resident before moving to Waukegan, where he is director of government operations, in late 2020. He is the 10th Congressional Democratic State Central Committeeman.
Maillard said he has experience guiding environmental protections, infrastructure improvements, economic development and expanding community internet access. He said he would protect communities from polluters, support unions protect a woman's right to choose, and fight rising prescription drug prices.
The 62nd District includes much of the Round Lake communities, Grayslake and northern parts of Libertyville.