Eleanor Sweet McDonnell: 2026 candidate for Lake County Board District 17

Bio

Office sought: Lake County Board District 17

City: North Barrington

Age:

Occupation:

Previous offices held: 2019 — Current: Re-elected — President, Village of North Barrington, 2025 — Current: Lake County Stormwater Commission, Past: Lake Zurich Fire Protection District Trustee, Past: Village North Barrington — Fire Commissioner, Past: Village of North Barrington Plan Commission Member.

Q&A

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I have noticed while interacting with the Lake County Board in the past 6 years that in addition to supporting the residents, they are supporting small interest groups with funding. I am committed to making sure the County Board is first, maximizing their fiduciary duties relative to the hard earned tax payers dollars being used in core services of sheriff’s police protection and correctional facilities; water and sewer services; construction and maintenance of highway and street infrastructure; health and welfare services; judicial services of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court; planning and zoning, and general administrative services. We need to maximize the return on investment (ROI) of the taxpayers’ funds that the County Board manages. I will be a “hawk” on this for the residents. In 2019 when I was elected, I reversed a previous 7 out or 9 years of deficit spending at the Village of North Barrington. I am proud to say we are now in our 6th year of a balanced budget for the Village. I have the strongest candidate background managing residents’ funds with an annual fiscal government budget.

If you are an incumbent, describe a few important initiatives you’ve led. If you’re not an incumbent, describe a few ways you would contribute to the board.

I am the only candidate running for Lake County Board District 17 that can hit the ground running the first day. I have 7 years of working both with the County Board and Springfield to successfully obtain support and grant funds needed for projects in our area, in addition to creating annual fiscal budget savings. I have the strongest candidate experience getting results with the County Board and with Springfield legislators.

Is there a specific service or amenity that is lacking in the county? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund it?

Given that Lake County’s budget is being squeezed by federal funding it would be prudent in this fiscal budget cycle and the next one, to hold off on any new additional services or amenities until the federal funding cuts impacts has been fully understood and taken into account with the current and future budgeting process.

I fully support, “Live within our means” and support a continuing balance budget going forward. As a board member I will be fiscally responsible for managing your hard-earned tax dollars as a resident and fully supporting a balanced budget.

Lake County Board members also serve as forest commissioners. What do you consider the biggest priority or need in your district from the forest preserve side?

For District 17 residents I would encourage the Lake County Forest Preserve District to continue their commitment to create more bike paths/lanes within the forest preserves, and along county roads where feasible.

District 17 also needs more satellite parking locations to better serve the residents and make more parking locations available and increase shorter drives to their various locations of the Lake County Forest Preserves for the residents. This would in a small way also diminish pollution and save on gas money for the residents.

With the county's budget being squeezed by federal funding cuts and other factors, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?

As President of the Village of North Barrington, I worked tirelessly to getting the first balance budget in 7 years for the Village of North Barrington. We renegotiated a sheriff IGA that created $237,000 savings over the three years of the renewed contract. I would not support increasing revenue on the back of the residents/taxpayers. I would look for cost savings measures that would not diminish current vital service levels for residents. I am the only candidate running for Lake County Board District 17, which has substantial current experience in achieving government cost saving results and working on annual fiscal budgets for the past 7 years. I need to get on the Board and start digging deeper.

For 7 years I have supported stronger transparency and increased accountability. I support that going forward. I also have strong experience as a business owner, successively negotiating vendor contracts with my clients that would be an asset to the County Board.

What is the single most important issue facing your district, and how should the county address it?

As I go door to door meeting residents, “affordability” is the most critical issue facing the resident. I will aggressively pursue everything I can to reduce costs and excess spending at the county level for the residents within the area of authority of Lake County Board. An area to look deeper into would be cost of services, fees, licenses, and eliminating government waste.

A secondary issue is District 17 has a fair amount of stormwater issues. Some of these impact the safety of the roads and infrastructure. I worked to receive a $2.5 million DCEO grant to solve the 20 year+ flooding safety issue on Route 59. Construction will be completed this year in 2026. I am personally spearheading this project on behalf of the area residents’ safety in District 17.

Why are you the best person to serve in this role?

Only candidate with proven qualifications, results, experience.! I’ve been working with the Lake County Board since 2020. Only candidate for LCB District 17 that can hit the ground running on day one. Only candidate that has previous legislative experience & experience working with the Lake County Board. Currently on LCB Stormwater Commission. I have working relationships with all the area Mayors & elected officials that represent the residents of LCB District 17.

I am a Write-In candidate; I am the most experienced and qualified person for that job! In 2024 & 2025 before petition filing deadline, I had direct discussions with County Board Member Mike Danforth. I expressed my interest in filing petitions for the seat if Danforth was not running. Danforth filed his petition on the 1st day and then Joe Salvi filed his petition on the last day. Both knew of my interest in running for this seat. I thought it strange that Joe filed to run against an incumbent. My suspicions were confirmed when Danforth withdrew his candidacy. Write-In campaign is difficult to wage. I believe that Republican Primary voters are smart enough to understand the issues & weigh the merits of each candidate.