A candidate forum was held at Batavia City Hall and hosted by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County . The forum was intended to educate voters on contested races in the upcoming election, specifically focusing on the Kane County Sheriff and Kane County Board (Districts 11 and 13).
The event followed a strict “empty chair policy,” meaning contested forums were only held if at least two candidates for a race were present. For races where only one candidate attended (due to opponents declining or being absent), that candidate was given three minutes to make a solo statement.
Part I: Kane County Sheriff Candidates
The forum featured one Republican candidate statement (the other Republican candidate Bob Russell declined) and a contested forum between the two Democratic candidates.
Republican Candidate Statement
- Luis Santoyo:
- Background: Santoyo shared a personal story of witnessing a man shot and killed on 18th Street in Pilsen when he was eight years old. This event drove him into a 28-year career in law enforcement, starting in 1995 with the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department.
- Experience: He served as a detective investigating homicides, gang shootings, and cartel murders, and spent five years in a specialized unit for child exploitation and human trafficking. He was also trained as a hostage negotiator and by the FBI.
- Platform: His platform focuses on transparency, police presence, improving response times, and ensuring personnel fulfillment.
Democratic Candidate Forum: Amy Johnson vs. Salvador Rodriguez
Opening Statements:
- Amy Johnson (Undersheriff): Emphasized her 20+ years in the office, rising from intern to Undersheriff. Her platform centers on steady leadership, supporting deputies, expanding mental health partnerships, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
- Salvador Rodriguez (Retired Lieutenant): Highlighted nearly 30 years of experience and his roots in Aurora. He positioned himself as a lifelong Democrat running to bring “new direction” and rebuild relationships with the community.
Issue-by-Issue Breakdown:
- Top Priorities & Budget:
- Rodriguez: His top priority is safety via visibility, specifically increasing patrols in unincorporated areas to reduce response times. He also prioritized continuing reentry programs and investing in youth through Explorer/Cadet programs.
- Johnson: Focused on budget sustainability to avoid returning to the county board for more funding. She emphasized recruitment and retention to ensure the office meets its allotment of 92 deputies and 114 corrections officers without raising taxes.
- Cooperation with Other Agencies:
- Johnson: Proposed more proactive resource sharing with municipal police (e.g., Batavia, St. Charles), rather than just reacting to major crimes. She suggested open sessions to determine equipment needs.
- Rodriguez: Specifically mentioned mending the relationship with the Aurora Police Department. He advocated for establishing substations in western unincorporated areas like Burlington and Big Rock to support smaller departments.
- Training Needs:
- Rodriguez: Repeatedly emphasized “de-escalation” as the critical training need. He also stressed hiring directly from the neighborhoods they serve.
- Johnson: Called for a “trifecta” of training: de-escalation, autism awareness, and mental health awareness. She noted that current “verbal judo” training is insufficient and that the current four hours of autism training is not enough. She also emphasized leadership training (e.g., Northwestern Staff and Command) for supervisors.
- Mental Health & Jail Services:
- Johnson: Acknowledged that two social workers are insufficient for a jail population of 300+. She proposed partnering with the Ecker Center and using interns from local universities to expand services.
- Rodriguez: Criticized the release of key program leaders (Judy Dawson and Corey Dixon) due to budget concerns. He proposed placing social workers with uniformed officers for immediate crisis response, similar to the Aurora Police Department’s model.
- Immigration & The Trust Act:
- Johnson: Stated clearly, “We are not going with immigration enforcement”. She affirmed she would follow state mandates and the Governor’s guidelines to ensure all residents feel safe reporting crimes.
- Rodriguez: Vowed not to cooperate with ICE or participate in “abusive tactics that undermine human rights”. He stated a “dark cloud” currently hangs over the office regarding this issue.
- Staffing & Mandatory Overtime:
- Johnson: Attributed overtime to unpredictable factors like FMLA, sick leave, and medical emergencies. She noted they are aggressively recruiting to fill the 114 allotted corrections spots but have received as few as 15 applicants recently.
- Rodriguez: Labeled the staffing shortage “unacceptable,” citing that officers were mandated to work overtime over 800 times annually in recent years. He claimed this averages to nearly 70 mandates a month, severely impacting officer health. He pointed out the lack of diversity, noting there are only two Black deputies in a force of nearly 100.
- Accountability:
- Rodriguez: Advocated for a Citizens Review Board, arguing that if Aurora and Elgin can do it, the Sheriff’s office can too.
- Johnson: Defended current checks and balances, including the Office of Professional Standards and State’s Attorney investigations. She is open to discussing a civilian board but emphasized that existing accountability structures work.
Part II: Kane County Board Candidates
Uncontested Statements (Districts 2 & 13 Republican)
- Ellen Nottke (Democrat, District 2):
- Highlighted the “unincorporated” nature of her district, noting residents lack curbs, city water, and sewer services.
- She supports mental health diversion programs and farmland preservation.
- Anthony Luis Cotella (Republican, District 13):
- Ran on a platform of lowering property taxes, noting Kane County’s median tax rate of 2.60% is higher than state/national averages.
- Proposed a “10 percent across the board tax rate cut” to lower the burden by $3,000 per year.
Democratic Forum: Districts 11 & 13
Candidates:
- District 11: Julie Forbes (Challenger, corporate retail background) vs. Leslie Juby (Incumbent, education/finance background).
- District 13: Nicholas Jimenez (Challenger, focus on working families) vs. Michael Linder (Challenger, lifelong resident).
Issue-by-Issue Breakdown:
- Budget & Taxes:
- Jimenez: Opposes regressive taxes (sales tax) that hurt working families. Supports progressive revenue sources like taxes on high-value commercial transactions or luxury property transfers.
- Linder: Also suggested taxing real estate transfers on million-dollar homes and luxury automobiles rather than everyday goods.
- Forbes: Wants to perform a “return on investment” analysis to find inefficiencies. She emphasized the need for a strategic plan (1, 3, 5 years) to align funding with long-term goals.
- Juby: Explained the board recently cut $14 million by finding efficiencies. She reminded the audience that as a non-Home Rule county, they are limited to levies, new construction, and fees unless they pass a referendum.
- Affordable Housing:
- Forbes & Juby (Dist 11): Both agreed housing is a critical issue in Geneva. Forbes noted a 1% vacancy rate on rentals. Juby noted the county’s limited power but highlighted the use of federal and state grants to provide small amounts of support.
- Jimenez (Dist 13): Stressed that young people cannot afford to live in the communities where they grew up. He proposed using community land trusts and requiring developers to incorporate affordability.
- Linder (Dist 13): Stated bluntly that the county cannot tax residents to build housing and must rely on lobbying for federal assistance.
- Data Centers (Impact & Regulation):
- Linder: Advocated for a moratorium on data centers, citing the threat to the water table (specifically mentioning Sugar Grove). He argued they “eat up” water and electricity.
- Forbes: Called for a “step back” to assess the repercussions, noting regulations haven’t kept up with AI technology. She highlighted resident concerns about having to dig deeper wells at their own cost.
- Jimenez: Stated he would not approve any data center without environmental impact studies and called for treating water as a public utility to block privatization.
- Juby: Admitted Kane County currently has nothing in place regarding data centers in unincorporated areas. She argued the board needs to require them to have their own energy sources, solar panels, and water recycling.
- Immigration & Trust Act:
- All Candidates: Expressed strong support for the Illinois Trust Act and opposition to ICE staging on county property.
- Juby: Clarified that while they voted to limit enforcement, the county cannot legally prevent federal agents from serving warrants.
- Linder: Expressed disappointment that the St. Charles City Council refused to take as strong a stance as the county. He noted local Latino businesses are suffering because residents are afraid to leave their homes.
- Climate & Environment:
- Juby: Supported the Climate Implementation Plan for its focus on reducing fossil fuel reliance and responsible solar usage.
- Jimenez: Envisions an “interconnected county” with green energy, walk paths, and public transit. He wants to use the county’s agricultural land to showcase environmental justice.
- Linder: Suggested using rooftops for solar energy rather than using up farmland or recreational land.
- Forbes: Asked for a “scorecard” to measure the success of the 2024 plan before expanding it, questioning “how are we doing?”.
- Transparency:
- Forbes: Criticized the current method of “data dumping” budgets online, arguing residents need summary pages to decipher the information.
- Jimenez: Defined transparency as “measurable public returns,” ensuring private interests don’t exploit county programs without public benefit.
- Juby & Linder: Addressed the timing of meetings. Both agreed evening meetings would improve diversity and access but cited the prohibitive cost of staff overtime as the barrier. Linder encouraged residents to watch recordings on YouTube.
Closing Statements
- Julie Forbes (Dist 11): Pledged to be a “strong voice” who will fight for residents who don’t feel heard and promised not to align with “far-right extremists”.
- Leslie Juby (Dist 11): Highlighted her “results-driven approach” and deep experience in governance, fiscal management, and strategic planning.
- Nicholas Jimenez (Dist 13): Reaffirmed his “grassroots campaign” focused on working people and creating a county that is financially stable and environmentally equitable.
- Michael Linder (Dist 13): Emphasized his responsiveness, stating he answers “every phone call and every email” and wants to preserve the community he has lived in all his life.
Candidate Websites
Below are the websites for the candidates who participated, based on the transcript and web search results.
Kane County Sheriff
- Amy Johnson (D): amyjohnsonforsheriff.com
- Salvador Rodriguez (D): rodriguezforsheriff.com
- Luis Santoyo (R): https://santoyoforsheriff.com/
Kane County Board – District 11
- Julie Forbes (D):julieforkane.com
- Leslie Juby (D): No dedicated campaign website found. (Official county page: kanecountyil.gov)
Kane County Board – District 13
- Michael Linder (D): votelinder.com
- Nicholas Jimenez (D): No dedicated campaign website found.
- Anthony Luis Cotella (R): No dedicated campaign website found, old site found. (https://catellaforkane.com/)
Kane County Board – District 2Ellen Nottke (D):No dedicated campaign website found.
Author: Jim Fahrenbach
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