Voters in Will County have to pick a state’s attorney on Nov. 2, and they have the rare luxury of choosing between two candidates who have a track record in the job. No guessing games there. They can assess the performances of Democrat James Glasgow, who held the office from 1992 to 2000, and Republican incumbent Jeff Tomczak, who ousted Glasgow in the last election.
They do, though, have a difficult situation to sort out: an unfolding political scandal that has touched Tomczak.
Tomczak received considerable help in his 2000 election from Chicago Democratic political operatives. Curious, since he’s a Republican.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Tomczak had received campaign funds from firms that are embroiled in Chicago’s Hired Truck Program scandal. The contributions apparently were engineered by Tomczak’s father, Donald Tomczak, a former top official in Chicago’s Water Management Department. In February, Jeff Tomczak donated to a local charity the $20,570 he had received from the Chicago trucking firms.
On Thursday, Donald Tomczak was charged with bribery and mail fraud in connection with the Hired Truck Program. Federal prosecutors allege that he provided jobs to trucking companies for payoffs and campaign contributions.
These are charges, not convictions, of course. Jeff Tomczak has not been charged with wrongdoing. But the ethical conduct of a campaign should be considered when voters make a decision about who will hold public office.
Tomczak and Glasgow have ripped each other over their respective tenures as state’s attorney. In our assessment, Tomczak has done a decent job in the office. Glasgow did as well. Four years ago, this page recommended Glasgow, then the incumbent, over Tomczak. Today, we do so again. Glasgow ran a professional and effective prosecutor’s office, and he doesn’t carry the burden of doubts about the ethical conduct of his campaign. James Glasgow is endorsed.
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Four years ago, this page also endorsed Republican Joseph Mikan for chief executive of Will County, in the hope that he would be a vast improvement on then-incumbent Charles Adelman. Mikan has delivered. He has done a solid job in the fast-growing county, bringing a high level of professionalism. The former county auditor and board member has proven energetic and efficient in getting things done. He has rightly pushed to expand space for courts and county offices, as well as computerizing county mapping and zoning, so that communities and groups can more easily access that information.
In recent weeks Mikan has been fielding questions about a federal investigation of the county’s Land Use Department, but there has been no indication that the investigation is in any way connected to him. Mikan is endorsed over Democratic state Sen. Lawrence Walsh, who has served as a Will County Board member.
In other races:
Circuit Court clerk: Incumbent Pamela McGuire has improved the operation of an office once embroiled in problems, and she is endorsed over GOP challenger Cathleen Wiegmann-Doran.
Recorder: Incumbent Mary Ann Stukel has withdrawn from the race for health reasons. Republican Laurie McPhillips, director of operations for the Will County executive, is running against Democrat Gina Glasgow, administrative assistant to the county clerk and wife of state’s attorney candidate James Glasgow. McPhillips oversees 15 county departments with about 800 employees and has earned praise for her skills and energy. Both candidates have good ideas for changing the office, but McPhillips gets the nod for her superior management experience.
Auditor: Republican Steve Weber worked 14 years in the office before he was elected auditor in 2000, and he has earned high marks in his first term. He is endorsed over Democrat Timothy Doyle, who has served in several school and municipal posts in south suburban Manhattan.
Coroner: Patrick O’Neil, the Democratic incumbent, has done an excellent job overseeing rapidly escalating caseloads. Republican Daniel Lee Beck is a Joliet obstetrician-gynecologist.
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These are endorsements in contested races for the Will County Board.
District 1: Husband-and-wife incumbents Lee Deutsche, a Democrat, and Mary Ann Gearhart Deutsche, a Republican, are longtime county residents and have served this district well. They are strongly endorsed, as is incumbent Republican Cory Singer, a director at an engineering and land surveying consulting firm. Singer helped lead the effort to assess school impact fees on developments in unincorporated areas. The GOP’s Robert Nixon and Democrats Frank John Mineo and John Anderson are also running.
District 2: Republican Thomas Weigel is a New Lenox trustee who strongly supports the development of an airport near Peotone, expansion of the county jail and the consolidation of 911 dispatch centers for better emergency response. He is preferred over Democrat Edmund Rooney.
District 6: Incumbent Republican Don Gould is strongly endorsed. Gould, an attorney, has some smart ideas about encouraging further development in areas that were bypassed in favor of open space development. Also endorsed: Republican Kerry Sheridan, the Troy Township fire chief, who has been a force in expanding parks and recreational opportunities in forest preserves, and Republican Deborah Rozak, who works diligently on zoning cases. They’re favored over Democrats Mary Pat Holtschlag, David Lee Beemsterboer and Joseph Rodawold.
District 7: Three Republican incumbents, Kathleen Konicki, Ronald Svara and Jim Bilotta, are endorsed. Svara, a retired math professor, is valued for keeping a sharp eye on the county budget. Konicki, an attorney, does her homework and asks tough questions. Bilotta, the Public Works Committee chairman, has been active in the upgrading of highways in the county. Also on the ballot are Democrats Sandra Ellinger, Daniel Vaclav and Phillip Petrakos.
District 9: This is a tough call between two candidates who have board experience. Incumbent Democrat Stephen Wilhelmi, a Joliet CPA, has been deeply involved in the county’s major issues, including the development of a third airport. Republican Paul Siegel, who owns a pumpkin farm, served a two-year stint on the board representing another district. Wilhelmi still questions the need for an airport near Peotone, while Siegel suggests that Will County should control the airport authority. Wilhelmi has served effectively, and he gets the nod.
