Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the March 17 primary election.
The Democratic primary race for the Kane County Board seat in District 11 in the March 17 election is between incumbent Leslie Juby and Julie Forbes.
The winner in the Democratic primary will move on to the general election on Nov. 3. There is no candidate running in the Republican primary for the District 11 seat.
Julie Forbes
Forbes, 67, of Geneva, said this is her first time running for the board and that voters in District 11 are concerned about taxes, the county budget and affordable housing.
“In terms of taxes, people think they are too high and there is no understanding of how our budget dollars are being spent,” she said. “There is an education process – people are saying there is no transparency. There is transparency but you just have to go to the website and find it and read through a lot of pages.”
Regarding the budget, Forbes talked about its complexity “and how it rolls up, and actually all the programs that are involved in the budget and how the money is broke out,” she said. “There is a lot of information and people can’t sift through it. The thing is, if we had more summary pages, I think more people would read it.”
With housing affordability, Forbes argues that prices are too high.
“Right now we live in a very dense population here in Geneva. There’s not a lot of opportunities for growth as far as development, especially low-income and moderate housing in the area,” she said. “I’m also going to throw in renters. For first-time buyers, it’s just too expensive for people to buy a house.”
If elected, Forbes said she would like to work on the board’s Finance Committee and forge a strategic plan, try to generate more income for the county and address public safety issues.
“We need transparency about how our dollars are going to work,” she said. “Right now, we don’t have a strategy plan and I would like to write a strategic plan with the other members of the board.”
Forbes said it is necessary to generate more income for the county.
“If there’s not a clear direction – we have some great programs out here,” she said, “but how are we going to fund them? The finance issue gets back to the budget and understanding how we are breaking out the budget and revenue-generating programs – it’s all tied in together.”
Public safety, Forbes said, involves making sure “our budgeted dollars are allocated and especially that we have enough for the Kane County Sheriff’s Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office.”
Leslie Juby
Juby, 64, of Geneva, is running for her second term on the board and said residents are concerned about the state of our democracy, supporting the community in areas ranging from mental health support to housing and food, and also the local economy and services that are provided.
“As I walk and talk to people, honestly, the thing people talk about and are afraid of the most is the state of our democracy,” she said. “People are really scared and they don’t understand it on the local level but they are afraid the guard rails, nationally, are eroding.”
Voters are also concerned about support for mental health, food security and affordable housing.
“I know that sounds like three things, but it’s actually, when I condense it, the same. They’re concerned about services and are we able to provide services that they feel our neighbors need,” Juby said.
Juby said that “people are also worried about the economy.”
“They’re afraid about affordability and economic growth,” she said. “People are worried about services. We have a very educated constituency and they heard about the SNAP benefits possibly going away and they are worried about neighbors and people being hungry and not having housing.”
If re-elected, Juby said she wants to continue her involvement in current projects which include an economic development initiative, working with the Regional Office of Education and the budget.
“I’m working on two initiatives right now that have to do with economic development,” she said.
Juby added she is “tapping into her educational background” and working with the Regional Office of Education “to bring more technical opportunities to our students, but we’re also looking to expand a bridge program that would take kids junior and senior year and let them hit the ground running when they finish high school.”
Juby said the county is “trying to get its financial footing again” and wants to continue “moving us toward a self-sustaining budget that doesn’t cut our services but allows us not to run off of our reserves.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
