Kim, Stolman trade barbs in heated Lake County treasurer's race
The Lake County treasurer's office most of the time operates under the radar, but candidates for the next four-year term leading the office have raised its profile by trading barbs and disputing what each calls the other's false attacks.
Republican incumbent David Stolman, a Buffalo Grove attorney who served 22 years on the Lake County Board, is seeking a second and, he says, final term as treasurer. Holly Kim, a former Mundelein village trustee and director of constituent affairs at Vernon Township, is his Democratic challenger.
The treasurer's office serves as the county's tax collector. It sends about 270,000 individual property tax bills, collects payments and distributes funds to the appropriate taxing bodies. It also invests and manages county assets.
Stolman said he submitted three times more signatures than needed on his nominating petitions to get on the ballot, a sign of support for his work to save taxpayer money and streamline processes.
He described Lake County as an "oasis of fiscal sanity" in Illinois. He said he's reduced in expenses, including by paying his own; developed a comprehensive investment strategy that has resulted in millions of dollars in earnings for the county; and created more modern and efficient processes that help taxpayers.
Kim, who lost a run for Mundelein mayor by five votes last year, touts her extensive community and civic involvement.
She describes Stolman as a career politician and called his salary "ridiculous." If elected, she vowed to donate $40,000 of the salary to civic organizations. The treasurer's salary, which is set by the county board, this year is $127,874.
In a fundraising message seeking grass-roots support, Kim said Lake County was "corrupt" and that the "right people" were needed to clean it up. She said Stolman was "corporate funded" and would stand up for donors.
At times, the give and take between the two has veered afield from the actual position and authority of the treasurer.
Kim, for example, said she supports capping property taxes to relieve the burden on taxpayers, while Stolman in 2008 said opposed the idea. A county treasurer has no say over the potential implementation of a tax cap.
Stolman, who describes himself as a "proven fiscal conservative and transparency champion," says Kim is lying about his record to cover the fact she helped raise taxes and fees as a Mundelein village trustee.
She contends Stolman should have been "sounding the alarm" about alleged misuse of county issued credit cards. Stolman said credit card charges go through the accounting department under the county administrator.
And in a news release regarding his participation in national "Coffee with a Cop" day earlier this month, Stolman claims Kim has a "concerning past" for organizing "anti-police forums" as a village trustee.
Kim, who in 2016 organized a community forum on how citizens can defend their rights when dealing with police, said she has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 66, "because they know with confidence that I am truly committed to standing with the law enforcement agencies who keep us safe."