Chris Lauzen to seek 2nd – and final – term as Kane County treasurer

Kane County Treasurer Chris Lauzen announced he will seek a second – and final – term.

His announcement does not state he is seeking the GOP nomination in the March 2026 primary, but Lauzen is a Republican. He previously served as a state senator and Kane County Board chairman.

“I enjoy working for you as county treasurer,” Lauzen stated in a news release. “Our team has demonstrated that we produce excellent results together. My promises made to you when elected Treasurer have been kept and expectations exceeded.”

Lauzen said his accomplishments included earning $20 million in interest income for the county, providing accurate information from audited financial statements, and saving more than $600,000 by replacing a longtime bank.

In 2023, First American Bank, with more than $40 million on deposit from the county, notified Lauzen that he had to follow seven initiatives related to data security and the bank’s online cash management system.

The bank gave him a deadline to implement them or find another bank. At the time, Lauzen instead sent out a request for proposals for a new bank.

Lauzen’s release stated he was seeking a final term as treasurer because four staff members, with a combined 113 years of experience, are retiring in the next five years.

Replacements must be recruited, managed and trained up to “full-speed,” the release stated.

“I have the proven experience, skills and systems to successfully manage this transition to our next generation of stable, highly-qualified public administration of the treasury function,” Lauzen stated in the release.

Lauzen made his announcement at a home in Aurora.

Assuming Lauzen will run unopposed in the GOP primary, he would face whoever wins the Democratic primary.

Kane County Auditor Penny Wegman and a former employee of the treasurer’s office, Candida “Connie” Cain, are both seeking the Democratic nomination.

Wegman, a Democrat from Elgin, is in her second term as auditor and served one term previously on the county board.

In her first term, Wegman’s audit of the county’s procurement cards – credit cards known as p-cards – exposed that nearly $60,000 was spent to send one employee to DeVry University.

Last year, Wegman received the Innovator Award from the International Association of Government Officials because of changes she initiated in how procurement cards are managed and documented.

Cain, formerly a Republican, changed parties and declared her candidacy as a Democrat. A Certified Public Accountant from Gilberts, Cain had also worked in Lauzen’s office as director of financial operations from May 2023 until she was fired by Lauzen in November 2024.