Sheriff, clerk among Kane County's hottest primary races
Kane County residents have decisions to make Tuesday that will have an impact on their wallets and the direction of public safety and voting.
On the public safety front, candidates have lined up to take on first-term Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer.
In 2014, Kramer followed in his father's footsteps when he won the election.
Kramer's term got off to a rocky start when he canceled an agreement to house federal inmates awaiting trial at the county jail, costing the county millions in revenue.
Kramer faces a challenge in the Republican primary from Sgt. Kevin Tindall.
In the Democratic primary, Lt. Willie Mayes Sr. is making a second run at sheriff after losing to Kramer in 2014. Opposing him is Sgt. Ron Hain.
Hain, Mayes and Tindall have been critical of Kramer's response to a hostage crisis at Delnor Hospital in May 2017 in which a jail inmate was shot and killed after disarming a guard and taking nurses hostage.
• The other hot countywide race features Clerk Jack Cunningham going up against fellow Republican Stan Bond, one of Cunningham's former employees.
Cunningham has logged 16 years as clerk. He seeks one final term to continue modernization and streamlining efforts in the office as well as possibly preparing the county to take on Aurora elections. Cunningham said he believes that major change will be enough disruption on its own that residents should want the most experienced candidate to guide the county and the city through that process.
Bond is a former worker in the elections department who has a plethora of technological experience and also is a Republican state central committeeman and a Montgomery village trustee. He believes Cunningham hasn't done enough legwork in preparing the office to handle Aurora voters. There's a history of mistakes and ethical lapses, all of which Cunningham admits to, that Bond believes no voter should be comfortable with.
Referendums
• Geneva voters will decide whether to raise the city's portion of the sales tax charged on nonfood items by one-half of 1 percentage point. If they don't do so, the city will charge a 2 percent tax on restaurant meals starting May 1.
• Aurora voters served by the Aurora Election Commission will decide whether to have the city stop handling elections and turn the duties over to the clerks of Kane, Kendall and Will counties.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and Kane, Kendall and Will County leaders support the move, saying the counties can better handle the duties.
The vote will not affect Aurora residents in DuPage County, which has an election commission.
• The Fox Valley Park District wants to increase its operating taxes by 20 percent. If the 7-cent rate limit increase is approved, the district could collect an additional $2.79 million the first year it is levied, in 2019. It would cost the owner of a $200,000 house about $46 more that year, according to a district estimate.
• The Pingree Grove and Countryside and South Elgin and Countryside fire protection districts want to build new fire stations they say are needed to address residential and commercial growth.
Pingree Grove is asking voters for permission to borrow $8.5 million to build two stations to replace two existing ones. The tax increase would amount to $90 per year for a taxpayer with a $300,000 home.
South Elgin is asking voters to approve two tax increases to build and equip two fire stations. One question asks permission to borrow $10 million for building; the second question asks for an increase in the levy to pay for equipment and at least nine more full-time firefighters. For a taxpayer with a $200,000 home, the total increase would be $129.25 yearly.
• The Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue District is again asking voters for a tax hike to fund equipment replacements, as well as pay raises for emergency personnel. The tax rate would increase from 27 to 43 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay an additional $53 per year in property taxes.
If the measure doesn't pass, fire board officials say, the district will have to cut nine firefighter positions and rotate closing one of its two stations every day, which could result in increased response times.
• East Dundee voters will decide if the village should cease to be a home-rule unit of government. The question was placed by state Rep. Allen Skillicorn, a former trustee.
If approved, the measure would eliminate the village's ability to implement various taxes, issue a certain amount of debt or raise property taxes above certain levels without going to a referendum. It would also end home-rule revenue streams that generate roughly $1.65 million per year.
Skillicorn says getting rid of home rule would force the village to cut costs and control its spending.
• Daily Herald staff writers Harry Hitzeman, Susan Sarkauskas, Lauren Rohr and Elena Ferrarin contributed to this report.