COVID-19 among race’s top issues
Candidates for Will County exec also talk traffic, growth
Will County voters will elect a new county executive to help guide the county as it continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, increased truck traffic and growth.
State Sen. Jennifer BertinoTarrant, a Shorewood Democrat who represents the 49th District, and retired Braidwood police Chief Nick Ficarello, a Manhattan Republican who retired from the Will County sheriff’s office as a deputy chief in 2009, are seeking to replace longtime County Executive Larry Walsh.
Walsh, who died in June, was not running for election to a fifth term. Denise Winfrey, a Joliet Democrat who had been serving as county board speaker and is seeking reelection to represent District 8, was appointed to serve the remainder of Walsh’s term.
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a top issue in the race in late August when Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed down indoor dining and bar service as test positivity rates for COVID-19 increased in Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties.
State officials said the positivity rates provide a better look at the spread of the virus, but Ficarello charged the way they are calculated— by using individual test results — could result in cases being double or triple counted.
“What we saw was a deception on the part of the Will County Health Department and also our state government in using those numbers to mitigate a closure on small businesses,” Ficarello said. “I believe the virus is real, but the numbers are skewed. The inflating of numbers is a big hoax on the people of Will County and the state.”
Ficarello said if elected he would work with county health officials regarding reporting COVID-19 cases.
Bertino-Tarrant has spoken out against turning the COVID-19 pandemic into a political issue and said science should be the guide.
“While we can disagree with some of the ways the governor has addressed some issues, we
can’t argue with science,” she said. “The county should be taking a leadership role in working with the municipalities in sharing a message of health and safety first — wear your mask and make sure you social distance.”
The candidates also addressed transportation and warehouse development. An ongoing study commissioned by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning aims to identify potential truck routes across the county to help ease congestion.
Ficarello said he supports a “slowdown” of warehouse developments to allowthe region’s infrastructure to catch up with the increasing traffic needs.
“When people want to go from one side of Joliet to the other or from one side of the county and it takes an hour to get there because of all the truck traffic, that’s not acceptable,” Ficarello said.
Both Ficarello and Bertino-Tarrant said they recognize the economic draw of the county’s status as home to one of the nation’s largest inland ports, and support bringing in manufacturing or tech jobs.
Bertino-Tarrant said she would work with partner agencies, such as area high schools, community colleges or universities, to promote workforce development to help bring new jobs.
“It’s about prioritizing what we need,” BertinoTarrant said.
She said she would work to make sure state funding earmarked for projects such as the Interstate 80 bridge comes through “sooner rather than later.”
Both candidates said they would continue to support law enforcement and would not support efforts to defund county law enforcement. Ficarello said hewould veto any efforts to defund police and Bertino-Tarrant pointed to an endorsement from the Will County Sheriff’s Deputies Union.
She said she would continue hosting conversations with minority leaders on race relations and said she supports making county governmentmore representative of the residents.
Both candidates said they would continue county efforts to fight opioid abuse.
Bertino-Tarrant said she would work with local law enforcement, prosecutors, educators and others to make sure the message is getting out opioid abuse awareness.
“This is not a criminal issue, this is a health issue and the county needs to continue to take the lead with the multitude of resources thatwe have,” she said.
Ficarello said he implemented a program in Braidwood that allowed with addictions who wanted help to turn in their drugs and seek treatment.
“You can’t arrest your way out of a drug problem,” said Ficarello, who lost a niece to opioid addiction. “Larry (Walsh) had taken some great steps in terms of creating an awareness. We need to expand on that and make sure that our younger people are healthy.”