The Homer Township Reset slate, a group of Republicans challenging the incumbent township administration, was leading by a large margin Tuesday night in the Homer Township Republican primary after all precincts reported, according to unofficial results.
The Will County Freedom Caucus headed by incumbent Supervisor Steve Balich sought an additional four years, but the Homer Township Reset slate, said they wanted to change the tone of the community.
The race was fueled by allegations the current administration divides the community, isn’t transparent and hires family members of elected officials for full-time township jobs.
Members of Homer Township Reset said the existing administration did not respect residents’ viewpoints. Residents were chastised during public meetings, and the administration didn’t listen to residents’ concerns when they tried to sell open space property.
The incumbents countered that the Reset group were “Republicans in name only” or “Democrats in disguise” after the group received support from the local township Democratic organization.
The Freedom Caucus consisted of mostly incumbents seeking their second four-year term, including Balich for supervisor, Clerk Vicki Bozen, Assessor Carmen J. Maurella III, Highway Commissioner Brent Alan Porfilio, Collector Rose M. Fialko and Trustees Mike G. Bonomo, Mike W. Clausen and Angel Constance Shake. The sole newcomer was Dominic Joseph Pacella for trustee.
Homer Glen Trustee Susanna Steilen headed the Homer Township Reset as a candidate for supervisor. Joining her were John Robinson for highway commissioner, Tami O’Brien for clerk, Sara Palermo for collector and Ken Marcin, Chris Sievers, Don Melody and Keith Gray for trustees.
With all precincts reporting, the Will County election results show 59.44% for Steilen and 40.56% for Balich in the supervisor’s race. For clerk, results show O’Brien with 58.3% and Bozen with 41.7%.
“People want good honest government,” Steilen said. “I don’t feel they were getting that. … We are going to have a good team. We are serious about serving the people.”
Steilen said township residents turned out for the race, noting one polling place had nearly 1,000 voters Tuesday.
“We will stay to our word,” O’Brien said. “We will do so much good for this community.”
For highway commissioner, Robinson led 58.97% over Porfilio, who captured 41.03% of the vote, according to the unofficial totals.
Collector candidate Palermo led with 61.19% over Fialko, who received about 38.81%.
In the trustee race, the top four vote-getters were Sievers with 2,407 votes, Gray with 2,341 votes, Marcin with 2399 and Melody with 2,333.
They were followed by Clausen with 1,613 votes, Bonomo with 1,609 votes, Pacella with 1,518, and Shake with 1,501.
“People in Homer Township were sick of the negativity,” Melody said.
He said the Reset slate put out informative articles about their platform on Facebook. At the end of the day, he said he believed residents appreciated the professionalism.
“People want to get back to treating each other kindly,” Melody said.
Township Assessor Maurella ran unopposed.
Balich said Monday his slate started the week with a prayer service and believed his slate did everything necessary to win. He touted endorsements by the chair of the Illinois Republican Party, the Will County Republican Central Committee and most Will County township organizations.
“We got huge support from everywhere,” Balich said.
He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
The Reset slate was endorsed by Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike.
Construction of a $2.2 million civic center on Trantina Farm was one point of contention during the race. The Homer Township Reset slate accused the administration of failing to seek public input and not disclosing how the project would be funded before construction began.
The 2020 referendum approved by voters asked to seek grants to pay for construction of a pole-barn type structure for Trantina Farm, which was previously bought using open space dollars.
Critics of the project say only $500,000 in grants were procured before construction began. More grants will be required to pay for amenities such as a kitchen or a stage, Balich has said.
The Reset slate was also interested in ending nepotism, noting that Balich’s son, Bozen’s sister and Shake’s husband were full-time employees at the township. They also pushed for the township highway commissioner to be a part-time position as was stated in a 2020 resolution that stated the position would be part-time if the responsibilities were less than 20 miles.
The Will County Freedom Caucus campaign accused the members of the Reset group for wanting to dissolve the township after Steilen voted last year to place a referendum on the ballot asking Homer Glen residents if they feel the village should pursue efforts to dissolve or discontinue township government to eliminate duplicative services and save taxpayer money.
The Reset group said the power to dissolve a township resides with the Illinois General Assembly, and the slate members are not looking to dissolve the township. They said they are for limited government, transparency and fiscal responsibility.
Will County Clerk Annette Parker said Tuesday evening that from the clerk’s standpoint, the election went smoothly with ballots and judges. She said there were a few reports of electioneering outside polling places, which were handled.
The Reset members will go onto the April 1 election, but no other candidates have filed.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
