Mathias seeking re-election for one more term on Lake County Board

Republican Sidney Mathias, who has served as a public official nearly every year since 1988, will seek re-election next year to what he says will be a final term on the Lake County Board.

Mathias, a former state representative and mayor of Buffalo Grove, was appointed to his 20th District county board seat in 2014 to fill a vacancy. He ran unopposed for a 2-year term in 2016.

Before joining the county board, Mathias served in the state House from 1999 to 2013. Democratic state Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills defeated him for the 59th District seat in the 2012 election.

There was chatter Mathias might run for the state House again after Sente announced last month she wouldn't seek re-election in 2018. But Mathias said he didn't seriously consider campaigning for his old seat because he has enjoyed working on local issues the past three years as a county board member.

He said he will continue to advocate for the proposed Route 53 extension before he leaves the county board.

"I hope the groundbreaking could occur by the time I leave office," Mathias said. "There probably won't be a ribbon cutting by then."

A Buffalo Grove resident since 1979, Mathias started his political career on the village's zoning board of appeals in 1983. He was elected as a village trustee in 1989 and became mayor in 1991, before moving to the state legislature in 1998.

Board District 20 includes Buffalo Grove and portions of Long Grove and Vernon and Ela townships.

The 2018 term Mathias is seeking is a 4-year term. Lake County Commissioners serve two 4-year terms and a 3-year term every 10 years because their districts are redrawn two years after each census.