With the March 17 primary election right around the corner, Democrats in the Naperville area will be narrowing the field of DuPage County Board District 5 candidates from three to one.
Incumbent Sadia Covert is facing challengers Ian Holzhauer, a Naperville City Council member, and Marylee Leu, president of the DuPage County Regional Office of Education Board of School Trustees. The winner will face Republican nominee Chris Jacks, a Naperville Park Board member, in the Nov. 3 general election to fill a single four-year board seat.
Democratic incumbent board member Dawn DeSart and Republican challenger Daniel Lomeli will face off in the general election for a two-year District 5 seat.
District 5 encompasses a large portion of Naperville in addition to sections of Aurora, Warrenville, Lisle and Woodridge.
The Naperville Sun asked the contested Democratic candidates for their biographical information and four questions on where they stand on issues facing DuPage County. This is the first in a series of articles on the race.
Sadia Covert
Age: Declined to answer
Marital status: Married
Children’s ages (if applicable): Declined to answer
Hometown: Naperville
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Benedictine University, law degree from Western Michigan University
Occupation: Attorney
Employer: Covert Marrero Covert law firm
Current elected office: DuPage County Board member for District 5 since 2018
Civic or social service group membership or community volunteer work:
- Former secretary for the Family Support Services Board, an organization helping victims of domestic violence;
- Panelist for the United Nations’ 62nd Commission on the Status of Women;
- Advisory board member for Muslim American Leadership Alliance;
- Member of Naperville Interfaith Leadership Alliance;
- Co-authored amendment to the Illinois hate crime law, which unanimously passed in 2017;
- Former chair of the women and minority committee for the Democratic Party of DuPage County;
- Recipient of the Barack Obama Presidential Service Award.
Ian Holzhauer
Age: 43
Marital status: Divorced
Children’s ages: 17, 15, 14, 10
Hometown: Naperville
Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, law degree from Georgetown University
Occupation: Attorney
Employer: Campbell Holzhauer Concierge law firm
Current elected office: Naperville City Council member since April 2021
Civic or social service group membership or community volunteer work:
- Member of the Downtown Naperville Alliance;
- Member of the Naperville Riverwalk Commission;
- Former board chair for the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce;
- Former board member for NCTV17;
- Former member of the DuPage Children’s Museum Next Generation Board;
- Former chair of the Trustees for First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville;
- Served in the U.S. Air Force from 2007 to 2014.
Marylee Leu
Age: 54
Marital status: Divorced
Children’s ages: 21, 17
Hometown: Aurora
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Excelsior University
Occupation: Project manager
Employer: Self-employed, currently doing contract work for Accelerate Climate Solutions
Current elected office: President of the DuPage County Regional Office of Education Board of School Trustees since 2023
Civic or social service group membership or community volunteer work:
- Executive board member for Indivisible Naperville;
- Board member for OLI Gardens;
- Campaign manager for Aurora Ward Seven Alderman Javier Bañuelos;
- Campaign treasurer for Aurora Mayor John Laesch;
- Volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood;
- Worked for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court Justice Linda Davenport;
- Served as a U.S. Navy Hospital corpsman in Naples, Italy, and Portsmouth, Virginia, from 1996 to 2001.
What do you see as the biggest issue facing DuPage County right now? (Answers edited lightly for clarity.)
Covert: I feel like there are three issues facing our county right now. Not in this particular order, they would be housing, food insecurity and mental health.
I’ve been working with the board on these three issues. We’re in the middle of projects regarding housing. We need more housing and we need to make housing affordable and accessible.
I supported accessory dwelling units, ADUs, in the county, unincorporated, to be rented out to nonfamily members under the age of 62. I also supported down payment assistance for new homebuyers. And also there’s a tax deferment program for retired seniors, property tax permit programs for retired seniors that qualify, so that should help.
But we do need to fill the middle gap because there’s no reason why families, firefighters and teachers … shouldn’t be able to afford a home so we need to get more housing.
Food insecurity: I know that SNAP benefits were cut in November and I know they were reinstated, but I just don’t trust the administration right now with that issue. I think food insecurity is going to get worse … and we do need to have a more sustainable option for our food pantries. I gave a portion of my ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to Loaves and Fishes. I supported them, and I always have supported every food pantry and looking for more sustainable options, like indoor, outdoor gardens, so we could have fresh produce all year round. So that’s something we’re working on.
And then mental health is really an issue. We just built the (DuPage County) Crisis Recovery Center (CRC), and I also donated a part of my ARPA funds to the CRC, and we’re doing great. We have buy-ins, and we’re helping children, adults with mental health and substance abuse. We need to continue that work.
Holzhauer: I think, and this applies to many counties, but we have this national climate right now where there have been drastic cuts to county governments, and the areas that have seen the most drastic cuts are support for human services, which is unconscionable. And when you layer this on top of the cuts that are happening to SNAP and Medicaid, what you’re being left with is the county is taking on more social service responsibilities with far fewer federal resources in a very short period of time. So being able to nimbly adjust to that is extraordinarily challenging, and it’s unfortunate the position that many counties are in right now, through no fault of their own.
Leu: I would say the cost of living and affordable housing. For example … my 21-year-old daughter is a mechanical engineering major and when she does graduate in about a year and a half, her expected salary will be around $70,000 to $80,000 a year, which is a respectable graduating salary. However, that’s very near low to moderate income for DuPage County and the ability for her to purchase her own home will be quite challenging on that salary. So there’s a great likelihood that she’ll need to move home with me, which she’d be welcome to do. However, I don’t know that she wants to. I think that even the price of my own home isn’t even affordable for the people who live in it anymore with the current cost of living so I would like to help address some of the property tax pressure, the capital planning, through the board.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
