Two more candidates file to run for Kendall County Board

Two more people have filed to run for a seat on the Kendall County Board in the March 19 general primary election, bringing the total number of candidates to 12.

Benjamin Schmidt, a Democrat from Yorkville, filed a nominating petition to run for District 1 while Savena Joiner, a Democrat from Joliet, filed a petition to run for District 2, according to Thursday’s updated petition filing list. Monday was the first day to file petitions and the last day to file is Dec 4.

Half of the Kendall County Board is up for reelection in November 2024. So far, 12 people are in the running for the five seats.

The board, which consists of 10 members elected from two districts, has partisan elections. As of now, seven Republicans are in the race and five Democrats.

Filing for Kendall County Board on Monday were District 1 board member and Republican Scott Gengler, District 1 board member and Republican Brian DeBolt, District 1 board member and Republican Seth Wormley, District 2 board member and Republican Dan Koukol and District 2 board member and Democrat Zach Bachmann.

Also filing were Brandon Beerup, a Republican, for District 1, Zachary Turnbow, a Democrat, for District 1, Jamal Williams, a Democrat, for District 1, Claude Ainsworth, a Republican, for District 2 and Diane Selmer, a Republican, for District 2.

The offices of circuit clerk, coroner and state’s attorney also will be on the ballot along with precinct committee person.

Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis – who was first elected in 2006 – was among those filing his nominating petitions Monday morning. He had already announced he will seek reelection in 2024.

Koukol has been on the Kendall County Board since December 2020.

“One of the big things that I’ve done here at the County Board is in my time here, I’ve never voted for a tax increase,” he said. “Property taxes are getting to the point where people are moving just because of the cost of living here in our district. So I’ve always tried to keep it where people can actually retire and stay here.”

DeBolt, who also has been the board since December 2020, was reelected to the board in Dec. 2022. Last December, the County Board elected DeBolt as the new president of the Kendall County Forest Preserve District, replacing Judy Gilmour of Yorkville, who did not run for reelection.

He sees growth as the biggest challenge facing the Kendall County Board.

“People are pouring into this county,” DeBolt said. “Plano is inundated, Yorkville is inundated, Oswego is inundated with new housing. And so now we have to deal with that housing. So that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges.”

Kendall County Circuit Clerk Matthew Prochaska has been in the office since December 2020. Prior to that, he was on the Kendall County Board.

“I want to finish getting the office e-recorded, which is moving away from paper filings and moving away from keeping paper copies of files,” Prochaska said. “We are very close. We have about half of our files that have moved over to e-record. I’m hoping the get the rest over.”

He faces a challenge from Oswego Village Trustee Kit Kuhrt. He was elected to the Oswego Village Board in 2021.

“I want to see the office get modernized,” Kuhrt said in talking about why he is running for the office. “People should have an easier time accessing information online. Currently, it’s a little outdated. It’s a little archaic. It’s not like some of the other counties, where you can just go online and access information.”

Both Prochaska and Kuhrt are Republicans.