Republican candidate drops out of DuPage County Board race
A DuPage County Board candidate has ended her campaign in another shake-up to the race for three District 5 seats up for election in November.
Naperville Republican Janice Anderson, a former one-term county board member, has dropped out of the contest after taking a new job as a project manager with Egon Zehnder, an executive search and management consulting firm. Anderson had been campaigning heavily with Greg Hart in his GOP bid for county board chairman.
"I didn't take the decision lightly, but I am withdrawing for personal reasons relating to my new career position," Anderson said in a statement. "I look forward to working and supporting Greg Hart and the rest of the Republican team."
As of Monday, Anderson's departure leaves only one remaining GOP candidate in the District 5 field: Patricia "Patty" Gustin, a real estate broker and sitting Naperville city councilwoman.
Rich Janor bowed out of the county board race to instead challenge state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr in the 41st state House district. Janor, a Naperville Park District commissioner, was selected by DuPage GOP officials to take on the Democratic incumbent.
Local party leaders can slate candidates to fill ballot slots, but the clock is ticking. Wednesday is the last day for the county GOP organization to fill a vacancy in nomination that occurs after the primary election and before ballot certification, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
On the Democratic side, Saba Haider was slated by her party earlier this month to replace former county board incumbent Amy Chavez in the race to represent the southwestern portion of DuPage. Chavez withdrew because her family is moving out of state.
Democratic incumbents Sadia Covert and Dawn DeSart are seeking reelection in District 5, which stretches from Aurora to Woodridge. Covert and DeSart won their first terms by defeating Anderson and Gustin during the blue wave of 2018. Anderson finished last in that four-way race.
It's the only county board district where Democrats now hold all three seats.
Voters in November will elect three board members from each of the six districts.
Rosemary Spann was slated by her party to round out the Democratic ticket in District 3, which covers the southeastern portion of the county. Spann is president of a meeting and event management business.