Democratic Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart is defending her District 13 seat against Republican challenger Ben Grum, each bringing years of experience from different arenas.
District 13 includes Lake Bluff and Knollwood, as well as portions of Great Lakes, Gurnee, North Chicago and Waukegan.
Hart was elected to the board in 2012, and was elected by her peers to serve as board chair in 2018, a full-time position. A resident of Lake County for 24 years, she has a bachelor’s from Indiana University’s School of Business and an MBA from DePaul University.
The primary issue of the election in Hart’s view is continuing the board’s record of “strong fiscal oversight on the budget.”
“Really, that’s the crux of what the County Board does,” she said. “You can follow what the board values by looking at their budget.”
When she initially became chair, Hart said she “insisted” the board wouldn’t raise property taxes, which it succeeded in for four of five years. Looking ahead, she emphasizes investing in infrastructure, including stormwater management, roads and non-motorized paths. Those are things that will help “attract and retain” businesses, she said.
Hart said she wants to continue the board’s work on behavioral health resources, such as with the Independence Center, as well as strengthening relationships with Lake County’s municipalities and the Great Lakes Naval Base to better collaborate.
As chair, Hart said she’s represented the county on the state and federal level for six years, and there is more work she hopes to accomplish with federal legislators. She feels her track record shows she is a good fit for the position.
“I would say I’ve proven myself to be a dedicated and successful leader, listening to the needs of my neighbors and to the needs of constituents across the county,” she said.
Grum is a lifelong resident of Lake County and has been involved in public safety since he was 16, starting as a volunteer with the Knollwood Fire Department. Since then, he’s worked as a 911 dispatcher, police officer, served as the MAP Local 171 union president and contributed to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the Attorney General’s Office.
He has a 22-year career in public safety and also serves on the Montessori School of Lake Forest school board and Lake Forest Policeman’s Pension Board.
Grum said the main issues of the election, “really revolve around public safety.”
“That’s a large reason why I’m getting involved,” he said. “Being in law enforcement, I’ve got a perspective in this area.”
His primary concern is the “extreme levels” of turnover the State’s Attorney Office has seen, resulting in “new, untrained people with not a lot of life experience” handling criminal cases. It has had “unprecedented” hiring struggles, he said.
“The turnover is so high the county is having a hard time filling these positions,” Grum said.
He had similar staffing shortage concerns for the Sheriff’s Office and the jail, pointing to a recent prisoner bus transport crash that injured 19.
“We’re one of the largest counties in Illinois,” Grum said. “We need to be self-sufficient. We need this taken care of, and we need a basic level of safety and security.”
Bringing someone with law enforcement experience would be valuable to the board, he argued, and bring focus to public safety, before “addressing economic issues and environmental issues”
“I will be able to bring new insight and … get us back on track for public safety,” Grum said. “I look at the law of hierarchy of needs. You need to be safe, have food on the table, then you can address all the luxuries in life.”
The election will be Nov. 5.