Sode seeking second term Wauconda mayor; leads slate of board candidates

Wauconda Mayor Jeff Sode will be seeking a second term in the April 1, 2025 municipal election.

In announcing his reelection campaign, Sode said he will sit atop a slate called Wauconda Strong 2025 that also includes candidates for village clerk and three village trustee seats.

“Our focus is on keeping all we have worked on going in the right direction, advancing our newly adopted strategic plan and continuing to devote resources to necessary infrastructure improvements and maintenance,” he said.

Sode was in the middle of his first term as village trustee in 2021 when he ran for the mayor’s spot. Incumbent Lincoln Knight was not seeking reelection and instead ran successfully for Wauconda Township supervisor. Sode garnered 78% of the vote in defeating first-time candidate Sandra Jo McClain.

A 27-year Wauconda resident, Sode chaired the village’s police and fire commission before becoming village trustee. As mayor, he is a director on the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency and commissioner on the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission.

He said four new housing developments are underway in Wauconda, a commercial development agreement in the “Triangle” tax increment financing district is about to be finalized and other opportunities are unfolding.

Sode is semiretired as vice president of special projects for the engineering construction firm ThermFlo Inc., where he worked 46 years. He’s a member of the Wauconda Lions Club, Moose Lodge #1969 and is a mentor and judge for Wauconda High School’s Future Business Leaders of America program.

Running with him on the slate are incumbent Clerk Virginia “Gigi” Radcliffe, incumbent trustees Tim Howe and Sam Stein and newcomer Matt Brown.