Name: Sherry Newquist
What office are you seeking: Will County Board District 3
What is your political party?
What is your current age? 69
Occupation and employer: 1) County Board Member, Will County. 2) Self-employed, Admini LLC (provides administrative help to small businesses)
What offices, if any, have you previously held? I have been a county boardmember since 2019. Previous elected offices include the Steger-SCH library board, and the Steger Village Board.
City: Originally from the Hill in Chicago Heights, grew up in South Chicago Heights, currently a 45-year Steger resident
Campaign website:
Education: BA, Psychology, Eastern Illinois University
MBA, University of Chicago
Community involvement: Steger-South Chicago Heights Friends of the Library (25 years)
Crete 175th anniversary planning committee
Volunteer for various community events as needed (ex, Riegel Farm clean-up event)
Marital status/Immediate family: Single, no children
What are your top three priorities for this district?
1) Balance growth and maintaining the rural character of the district
2) Maintaining and improving our infrastructure
3) Improving services to the Eastern part of the county
What types of job growth are needed in Will County to help residents keep up with rising costs, especially housing?
Will County has become a hub for transportation, energy, and health care, among other sectors. We need to ensure that our residents have the education and training needed for these careers, plus we need to put policies in place that encourage the growth of the many small businesses that support these industries. We also need growth in the skilled trades to keep up with the development demand.
What should be infrastructure priorities and projects over the next four years?
• Widening and improving major arterial roads to accommodate increased traffic volumes
• Repairing and maintaining aging bridges and overpasses
• Managing truck traffic to reduce the impact to neighborhoods
What is your position on data centers? Should the county be open to their development?
I would consider data centers on a project by project basis. I believe we need to establish guidelines for addressing issues like water use, electrical grid impact, and any quality of life issues for surrounding residents (noise, heat generated, etc.)
Do you favor solar farm development? Should the county encourage more sustainable energy development?
I believe solar farms should also be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. While in general I favor sustainable energy development, I also don’t agree with the current state law that essentially requires us to approve these developments without regard to existing land use planning and the impact to immediate residents.
What should be the county’s spending priorities?
Given the overall economic uncertainty in 2026, one of our top priorities was to maintain and/or expand our current services, in anticipation of the increased needs of our residents. Our budget also ensures the delivery of our critical preventative healthcare services. And last, there are a number of on-going and future road and infrastructure projects addressing congestion and safety issue