Dems may have majority on board
Unofficial results show party gaining that distinction for first time
Riding the wave that thrust many Democrats and women to victory throughout the state Tuesday night, were Will County Democrats who appear to have won just enough seats on the county board to gain a 14-12 majority.
They also apparently claimed all county-wide seats and two judgeships, according to unofficial results.
It is the first time that Democrats controlled all county-wide seats, board leadership said.
Going into Tuesday’s election, Republicans held a 16-10 majority on the board, and had Nancy Schultz Voots as clerk, and Steve Weber as treasurer.
Voots is retiring after four terms, and her seat was won by Democrat Lauren Staley-Ferry. Weber was apparently defeated in his re-election bid by Joliet Democrat Tim Brophy.
Democrats took four board seats away from Republicans – just enough to earn a 14-12 majority – including seats in traditional Republican strongholds like Wheatland and Frankfort Townships, officials said.
Democrat Shawn Walsh ran unopposed for another term as Regional Superintendent of Schools.
Democrat Minority Leader Herbert Brooks Jr., said it was not only a “blue wave” but a “female wave” and other factors that propelled many candidates to victory at the county level. Five of the six new people elected to the county board are females, and five are Democrats, and half of the 26 county board members will be women.
The new faces are Republican Julie Anne Berkowicz, and Democrats Mimi Cowan, Amanda Koch, Meta Mueller, Rachel Ventura and Joe VanDuyne.
While Will County government is doing well, voters were unhappy with the state of Illinois, “and that sent a message as well,” Brooks said.
Board Speaker Jim Moustis, R-Frankfort Township, also acknowledged that the county was part of the blue wave.
“Will County was certainly not immune to that,” he said, noting that there also was a large number of new voters.
But locally, the candidates also worked hard, he said.
“The pendulum has swung a little further to the left, and we will see where it swings next,” Moustis said.
Voters who chose Democrats J.B Pritzker as governor and Lauren Underwood, of Naperville, to represent the Congressional 14th District, created a coattail effect for Will County candidates, officials said.
Republican Darren Bennefield, of Plainfield, who lost his bid for re-election in District 5 in Plainfield and Wheatland Townships, said the Democrats “did a great job” of promoting female candidates and pre-existing health care, and put “a lot of money” into the campaign.
“It was a formidable challenge,” he said. His Republican colleague Gretchen Fritz won her re-election bid.
Bennefield said he was “surprised” by the results, because when the Republicans had the majority, “we did some great things,” like lower the tax rate and launch capital projects.
Meta Mueller, the Democrat who won Bennefield's seat, said it was due to “a combination of hard work and the blue wave.”
“I've been out knocking on doors and meeting people in the district since before the primary election, and so have many volunteers. I found that most residents I talked with appreciated learning more about what the county does to serve them. Democrats worked together in my community and created our local blue wave,” Mueller said.
County Executive Larry Walsh, D-Elwood, said the Democratic Party put up good candidates who were dedicated and hard working in their efforts to knock on doors and get their messages out.
Volunteers supported county candidates, such as Mimi Cowan, Vincent Cornelius, and Mueller, Walsh said. Cowan in District 11, along with Mueller in District 5, became the first Democrats to win county board seats in that area, he said, noting that this diverse area is transitioning.
Voters in the northwest corner of the county also elected Republican Julie Anne Berkowicz after both Republican incumbents Suzanne Hart and Chuck Maher lost in the primary.
Cornelius, who also lives in this area, defeated Republican Victoria McKay Kennison for the 12th Circuit Court judge post.
The other judgeship was won by Democrat David Garcia, of Joliet who defeated Republican Ben Braun, to become the first Latino circuit judge in Will County.
Local issues – such as the controversial NorthPoint Development proposal for a large-scale warehouse project in unincorporated Jackson Township – also swayed voters, who are fed up with truck traffic in their neighborhoods.
In District 5, voters chose Republican incumbent Don Gould, of Shorewood, and Democrat Joe Van Duyne, of Wilmington, who have opposed the project, and ousted Republican incumbent Debbie Militello, who has not yet taken a stand on that issue.
Van Duyne said the Democrats did not count on riding the blue wave, but “stayed the course and worked hard. We didn't take it for granted,” he said.
“I'm really excited to work with Don Gould. I plan to jump into my seat and figure out how things work,” he said.
Two years ago, when he ran and lost, he said it was the “red wave and Trump factor.”
In District 2, in Green Garden, Manhattan, and part of Frankfort Townships, board Speaker Moustis, who also opposed NorthPoint, won another term.
“I'm very thankful I did as well as I did,” he said, calling the victory a “vote of confidence.” He has been on the board since 1992.
Democrat Amanda Koch, an Army veteran, making her first attempt at elected office, will replace Frankfort Republican Cory Singer who lost in the primary to Republican Keith Ogle. Ogle, a Frankfort village trustee, finished third in the race for two seats.
Another Democratic female who was the top vote getter was Rachel Ventura, 37, of Joliet, who will represent District 9 with Republican Annette Parker, who won a second term.
Ventura said she ran a grassroots campaign of new volunteers “who were anxious to see change.”
They knocked on 10,000 doors and followed up with phone calls up to the last minute, she said.
“I am happy that the board flipped to blue so the Democrats can prove what they can do,” Ventura said.
“But we have to work together. We all got into government to help the community and if we focus on that, we can do it,” she said.
The county has a lot going on, with its building projects and road improvements, and Walsh said he will continue in the same direction.
“The game is the same, but with different players and leaders,” he said. “We will do our best to have a well oiled machine that is responsive to our constituents. You never go wrong by listening to your constituency.”
Of the 13 districts on the county board, eight will have members from both parties.
“The caucuses may have a different approach to solving problems or delivering services, but we are not extremely partisan. At the end of the day, we get things done,” Moustis said.
“The election is over. I will work with anyone who is there,” he said, adding that stepping down as speaker will allow him to focus more on his district, he said.
Brooks said those in Will County government “always got along well, and that will continue.”
With the party shift, the minority leader also said he plans to once again seek the role of speaker of the board.