Michael Farmer: 2026 candidate for DuPage County Forest Preserve Board District 5

Bio

Office sought: DuPage County Forest Preserve Board District 5

City: Naperville

Party: Republican

Age: 63

Previous offices held: none

Q&A

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

The Forest Preserves in DuPage County are very important to me because from an early age both of my grandfathers, in their own unique ways, instilled a deep love for nature in me that I have carried into my adult years. Now that I have recently become a grandfather, I have the opportunity to pass that legacy on to not only my grandchild, but all of the children in DuPage County.

The forest preserves in DuPage County are more than just open spaces. They are vital community assets that protect natural habitats, provide recreational opportunites, and educate people. They contribute to an overall increase in the quality of life for our residents.

If you are an incumbent, describe your two biggest contributions to the board. If you are a non-incumbent, describe two ways you would contribute to the board.

N/A

What role should the forest preserve play in preserving historic buildings on its land?

The Forest Preserves should definitely take a leading role and work with all necessary parties to preserve historic buildings on their property. There are many purposes these building can serve to enhance our Forest Preserves.

How would you rate the job the commission is doing to develop existing forest preserves and make them accessible to residents? How would you approach things differently?

Overall the commission does a pretty good job at preserving and maintaining the preserves. That being said, there is always room for improvement.

I feel like the DuPage County Forset Preserves are one of the best kept secrets in the county. I definitely learned that in talking to residents during my campaign. I would definitely do more to promote what the preserves have to offer. Utilize social media and other inexpensive but highly effective methods to get the word out to the people about what the Preserves have to offer. There is a lot there, but I feel like the commission needs to be more proactive in letting people know that, especially when I compare that to some of our surrounding counties and how they manage their communications. This would be one of the efforts that I would champion.

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

The biggest issue facing the forest preserves in District 5 is the attempts to develop land surrounding the the preserves with potentially harmful developments. Over the past year there were attempts to build a data center and a housing development adjacent to some of our preserves. I was happy to help with the efforts to defeat these projects and we were successful in stopping both projects from happening. Those were both big wins for the forest preserves but I believe there will be other efforts in the future to develop these lands. The Forest Preserve needs to be involved in the efforts to make sure that no projects that can potentially harm the environment or ecosystems around the preserves get approved.