Isobel Michaud: 2026 candidate for DuPage County Board District 4 (2-year term)

Bio

Office sought: DuPage County Board District 4 (2-year term)

Party: Republican

City: Wheaton

Age: 29

Previous offices held: no public offices held previously

Q&A

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

I am a lifelong DuPage County resident who graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South and returned after graduate school. I am a scientist by training and young professional deeply involved in my community as a civil servant, volunteer, and leader of several organizations, including serving as a homeowners’ association board member and President/VP since I was 18. I seek office on the County Board to serve my community in an even greater capacity. As a young woman, I am living proof of the very real challenges my generation and the next face, and I believe I am uniquely qualified to help address the challenges our County faces.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you’ve led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

I am a scientist by training and would bring research grounded in facts, not emotion, to the board. My priorities are cutting taxes, streamlining the budget, and preparing DuPage County to train the workforce of an AI-infused economy.

STEM professionals are among the least represented in office: only about 3% of state legislators are scientists, engineers, or physicians/nurses (Rutgers, 2025). To my knowledge, no current board member holds an advanced science degree. As a researcher trained in statistics, I will address county issues by the numbers, starting with a budget that has ballooned:

FY23: $586.0M | FY24: $625.0M | FY25: $636.6M | FY26: $661.5M

That is nearly 13% growth in four years, outpacing inflation while population grew just 0.15%. A steward of tax dollars returns surpluses ($25 million in FY2025) through property tax abatements, debt paydown, and tax cuts such as the $0.10 per gallon gas tax.

Chair Deborah Conroy now proposes $710.7 million for FY2027, another $50 million (7%) increase, with inflation at 3.4% (BLS, Aug 2026) and no population growth. I will defend our taxpayers, plain and simple.

What initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?

We do not have a revenue problem; we had a $25 million surplus in 2025. We have a spending problem, and it is irresponsible.

Surpluses should be returned to the taxpayers, specifically in property tax abatements, paying debts, and cutting taxes. One great example is the gas tax which just increased to $0.10 per gallon in July 2026.

The DuPage County Board doubled the gas tax from 4 to 8 cents in 2020 as a COVID-era measure to maintain revenue when people were driving less. COVID is over, but the Board maintained this doubling and even added another 2 cents! It’s fair to ask why the Board has not entirely removed this COVID-era measure.

This is about more than gas prices. It’s about fairness, accountability, and building a county where working people have a real shot at success.

I have a full plan of initiatives I am continuing to research and write about, and more details can be found at isobelmichaud.com.

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

Workforce training is the most important service we need to prioritize, and it is lacking. The cause is not cost or missing resources but a lack of prioritization. We need to invest in young people for good careers and help current workers retrain for new roles. As an executive headhunter working at the leading edge of AI with clients nationally and internationally, I see firsthand how AI is changing the landscape, and I am one of the few local industry experts who can help prepare the County Board for it.

WorkNet DuPage is a prime example: a service that already exists, is mainly federally funded, and connects local industry to workers. It needs little or no new funding, just the County Board's bully pulpit to spotlight its resources. Healthcare is DuPage's largest industry, followed by manufacturing, and healthcare jobs are the most urgent to fill. I have reviewed the current numbers, and we have a real opportunity to connect affordable local programs, such as College of DuPage, with quality jobs in growing fields like CNA, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant. The County can improve this service without increasing budgets.

Does there need to be more bipartisanship and cooperation on the county board? If yes, what would you do to help make that happen?

Yes; local elected officials have a duty to work together with civility and decorum. Professionally, I work with biotechnology leaders nationally and internationally and understand the value of differences in perspective and where it is important to disagree and where it is important to collaborate. I have a track record of leadership in every aspect of my life professionally and personally, and I will bring that experience to the county board.

What is your stance on county board members' pay? Is it too high, too low, or just right? Would you propose any changes?

It is as high as some entry-level jobs and too high for a part-time job, which each County Board office is. It is alarming that only 5 current board members have full-time jobs outside of being board members. This office is a civic duty, not a career, and historically most DuPage County Board members have served in full-time jobs outside of government. This paradigm is essential because we need to bring truly diverse points of views to the board so that it can see beyond the insular view of government. We need board members who bring private industry perspectives to the board. It is good we have lawyers and accounts serving, but we also need small business owners, engineers, scientists, truck drivers, electricians, and more.

What is the most important issue facing the county in your district and how should it be addressed?

The key issue is workforce development in the age of AI. My goal is to help people build careers while helping local businesses find high-quality employees. We have great industries, great people, and great training programs at community colleges and local universities. We just need to connect the dots, in District 4 and across the county.

Connecting people to good jobs helps address nearly every other community issue. Workers expand the tax base, buy homes, pay property taxes, and spend money that fuels local economies and the sales taxes that are the county's biggest revenue source. They also give back through philanthropy, volunteering, and mentoring kids. Connecting young people to careers can also help mitigate the mental health and drug crises affecting our youth.

DuPage is where I grew up and where I returned to build my career. I want the DuPage of 2030, 2040, and 2050 to offer the opportunities I had to live the American Dream, and that will take local leaders who know what is coming.