Clyde McLemore, the founder and executive director of the Lake County chapter of Black Lives Matter, is a politically active individual with a longtime desire to serve in public office. He said he has run 11 times, mostly for school boards where he lives in Zion, losing the first nine elections.
Winning a spot on the Lake County Regional Board of School Trustees in 2023 with more than 43,000 votes, a quirk of state law prevented him from taking his seat. In the 2025 general election, he received 36,529 votes for the same position, but this time everything was in order.
McLemore took his oath of office and was seated as one of two new members of the Lake County Regional Board of School Trustees on Monday in Vernon Hills.
“After running 11 times, I felt comfortable as I drove up to the Regional School Board office,” McLemore said. “I was legally elected, I was sworn in and I am ready to serve.”
Michael Karner, the regional superintendent of schools in Lake County who serves as the board’s secretary, said state law prevents more than one trustee from a township. When McLemore was elected two years ago, there was a sitting trustee from Zion Township, so McLemore was not seated.
“He’s the only one from Zion Township now,” Karner said.
A frequent attendee at meetings of elected bodies in Lake County, like city councils, the Lake County Board and school boards, McLemore frequently speaks during the time set aside for public comment, giving his views on a variety of issues.
Not shy about publicly criticizing elected officials, McLemore said he is ready to sit on the dais and listen to the public. He feels he is ready to perform the duties of a trustee. He said he will do his homework before each meeting.
“I’m going to do what is best for this community,” McLemore said. “More than 36,000 people voted for me, and I will do what is expected of me in this position. I have no problem doing the right thing. I pray to God that He gives me the wisdom and vision to do the right things.”
Karner said the role of the seven-member board is very narrow. It meets four times a year, but only if there is business to conduct. There can be special meetings if an issue cannot wait for the next scheduled gathering.
“This elected board hears petitions for annexations, detachments and changes in school (district) boundaries,” Karner said.
Petitions are also heard for withdrawal from joint agreements or cooperatives, and it can appoint appraisers and the board can approve of final settlements in the division of assets when new districts are formed, Karner said.
Phillip DeRuntz of Grayslake was elected president by his colleagues. He said he has served on the board for more than 10 years. When decisions are made on petitions regarding school districts in Lake County, there is an overriding guide.
“We have to follow the Illinois school code,” DeRuntz said. “The decisions we make are because of the Illinois school code.”
When it came time for McLemore to cast his first vote, he had to pass. It was for the approval of the minutes of the last meeting. He was not present, and did not have the knowledge to vote on the minutes’ accuracy.