2026 Election Questionnaire: Tyler Giacalone, Will County Board, District 11

Name: Tyler Giacalone

What office are you seeking: Will County Board, District 11

What is your political party? Democrat

What is your current age? 28

Occupation and employer: Program and Policy Coordinator, Joliet Township

What offices, if any, have you previously held? This is my first time running for public office.

City: Bolingbrook

Campaign website: tylerforwillcounty.com

Education: Bachelors in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy from The Ohio State University, Masters in the Teaching of History from the University of Illinois at Chicago

Community involvement: I serve as the President and Founder of the Young Democrats of Will County, I also serve as the Vice Chair for the Dupage Township Democratic Party.

Marital status/Immediate family:

What are your top three priorities for this district?

Affordable Housing

Housing is unaffordable in Will County, and residents cannot afford rent on warehouse pay. There is no excuse for working families not being able to find, let alone afford, housing in our county.

If elected, I will work with partners at all levels of government as well as the private sector to bring affordable housing to our neighborhoods, and help make our county a place for our neighbors to start and raise their families here.

Safe Neighborhoods

There is no excuse for us to feel unsafe in our own streets. We need to invest in community-first policing that can prevent crime, rather than simply react as it happens, and as your county board member, I will put your safety FIRST in all of my decisions.

Safe Neighborhoods

What types of job growth are needed in Will County to help residents keep up with rising costs, especially housing?

We need stable, high-paying employment in Will County. While the economic outlook of the county has grown over the past few years, we have seen that growth primarily in the field of hourly or temporary employment that does not pay the wages necessary to live in Will County. I would like to see a shift from warehouse employment opportunities to jobs that can support a career and family.

What should be infrastructure priorities and projects over the next four years?

Will County needs to invest in housing across the county. Prices remain unaffordable, forcing residents to cut costs and harming our local small businesses in the process. I would like to see a sizeable investment in housing opportunities across the county. In addition, Will County contains the largest in-land port in the nation, and serves as a vital logistics hub. With that comes a constant need for maintenance and infrastructure expansion to both accommodate the needs of our businesses and our residents.

What is your position on data centers? Should the county be open to their development?

I remain skeptical about the benefits behind the current data center craze. If communities are going to construct data centers, they should ensure the facility will be providing life-long employment for residents, is building responsibly to accommodate resident needs first, and that the costs for the facility will not be unduly paid for by residents instead of the facilities themselves. I also believe that municipalities and the county must ask for economic data showing a continual demand for these services and availability of the equipment needed to build it. Much of the equipment needed for data centers have not yet been produced, computer parts are experiencing a global months long backlog to be eligible for purchase, while prices needed for this equipment have been extremely volatile in the past year. These projects should not be treated any differently than other development projects, and communities should ask the difficult questions prior to agreeing to construction of a data center.

Do you favor solar farm development? Should the county encourage more sustainable energy development?

I strongly support development of solar facilities across the county. I would like to encourage sustainable energy for the long-term economic benefits it will bring to our homes. Our county should first prioritize private-public partnerships to develop solar farms, rather that relying heavily on large-scale solar projects that impede on our existing farmland in Will County. Much of our county’s infrastructure and public facilities, for example, could be expanded to produce sustainable energy in a way that has the least impact on residents.

What should be the county’s spending priorities?

A large majority of the county’s budget is based on public safety. I do not believe that priority should change. Keeping our community safe is the highest priority for our county government. I would like to see some of our spending priorities change to invest in long-term solutions to our problems. Investing in problem-solving courts or remediation programs can keep people out of the criminal justice system, thereby reducing the need for expanded security by the county.