Forbes, Collins face off in race for Kane County Board seat in District 11

The Kane County Board race in District 11 pits Democrat Julie Forbes against Republican William Collins.

Forbes, 68, of Geneva, said voters are concerned about the economy, affordable housing, the environment and proposed data centers.

“Right now, people are worried about the economy. Food prices are out of control and fuel prices are extremely high and health care costs – everything – housing, rent, everything has gone up substantially,” she said. “The fear that voters have is they don’t see an end in sight.”

Regarding housing, Forbes said, “Geneva in District 11 has a very dense population.”

“Not only do we have a lack of affordable housing, we just don’t have housing in general,” she said. “The vacancy rate is so low, and people can’t find a place to live, not only with ownership, but also rentals.”

The environment is also an issue, Forbes said.

“It’s the data centers and just the influx of data centers coming into the area without understanding, fully, the implications, not only to our utility bills, but also the environment,” she said. “That has become at the top of the list, and everyone is concerned about what’s going on.”

If elected to the board, Forbes said she plans to work on the budget, including transparency and revenue issues, protecting the environment and improving how the board itself works.

“First of all, there is the budget, transparency and making sure we have enough revenue to support all of our programs,” she said.

Regarding the environment, Forbes says it’s important that “we do protect the Fox River Valley and our forest preserves, and the open spaces and specifically our farmland and improving water quality.”

In addition, she said one of the biggest challenges is working better together as a board.

“We need to work with those who have common goals and working on resolutions and plans,” she said. “I just see that as a huge opportunity of working better together.”

Collins, 63, also of Geneva, said voters tell him they are concerned about financial stability, their tax bills and having adequate funding for veterans’ programs and mental health initiatives in the community.

“People are concerned about trying to bring more financial responsibility to Kane County. The county has been raising taxes yearly, and people want to be sure that these programs are running efficiently,” Collins said. “They want to know if there is a way to run them better so we don’t have to raise taxes every year.”

Regarding veterans, Collins said that residents “want to make sure their programs are being funded.”

“We do have good programs here in Kane County” for veterans, he said.

The mental health issue, he said, is about realizing “we now have more issues and problems and we need to make sure we are funding those programs, and we need to see where we can also get the funding.”

If elected, Collins said he wants to work on better communication among board members, work to protect farmland and open space, and make sure proper and adequate attention is paid to local infrastructure.

“I’d like to make sure the board is communicating together and being more bipartisan and to meet in the middle with these issues and discuss them,” he said. “I think in doing that, we can resolve some funding issues and make Kane County a better place to live.”

Collins said regarding open space, the county has “a really good program there. We have our farmland protection program that is funded, but I want to make sure that we can get all the funding we can.”

“I’d like to keep the balance with the farms and urban growth,” he said.

Finally, Collins said he wants to stress “that our infrastructure is important and we need to continue to keep our roads and bridges funded.”

“I come from a municipal background, and that’s an area where I’m very interested that we are up to speed,” he said.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.