The McLean County Board chair is in a race with the board’s longest-serving Democrat and a political newcomer for one of two open seats in November.
Republican John McIntyre of Normal has chaired the County Board since 2016. Democrat Elizabeth Johnston has been on the board since 2018. Hannah Blumenshine is the third candidate in District 5.
The district includes much of north and northeast Normal. The three candidates are competing for two seats on the 20-member board. Blumenshine did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
McIntryre has served 22 years on the county board in two stints, starting in 1980. The retired teacher and football coach said if reelected, it would likely be his final term.
“I think probably. There comes a point where if I were to go four more years that would probably be a time for someone else to come in and do it,” said McIntyre, adding he plans to seek reelection as chair if he returns to the board.
Half of the new board members will get four-year terms and the other half will get two years. A lottery will be conducted after the election as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process.
Mental health
McIntyre said there are several projects he wants to work on, including the county's ongoing mental health initiatives. He wants to see the county expand access to mental health for young people.
Johnston is a social worker first elected four years ago, when she defeated a Republican incumbent. Two other Democrats who ousted incumbents did not seek reelection. One of them, Sharon Chung, is running for the state legislature.
Johnston said she wanted to increase government transparency and accessibility when she first ran. She noted the county board has since moved its monthly meetings to evenings, and the county also video streams all committee meetings now.
Johnston said her proudest accomplishment was shedding light on how the county drew its political maps for this election.
“Because that’s something that really speaks to our ability to make positive change where we are responsive to the voters,” she said.
Johnston co-chaired a committee that selected community members that helped draw county board boundaries.
As for the county's mental health plans, Johnston said she would like the county to set more specific benchmarks.
Nursing home
Financial benchmarks for the McLean County Nursing Home in Normal look much better than in recent years. The county-run home has been a financial drain for years, but has rebounded in thelast year under a new manager.
The county had a committee of community leaders recommend ways to improve the home. One was to change the name as part of rebranding effort. McIntrye said he no longer thinks that's necessary.
“If the McLean County Nursing Home has an identity all itself and if the service has been good, then we don’t need to change the name, all we need to do is keep upgrading our services,” he said.
McIntyre said the nursing home could follow the industry trend of adding more private rooms, but noted that would make fewer beds available without a building expansion.
Johnston credits the nursing home's turnaround on two main factors: higher Medicaid reimbursements and higher pay that has limited the county's need for much costlier contract nurses. A bulk of the nursing homes residents are on some form of public aid.
Johnston said the nursing home is exploring other revenue streams, including rehabilitation and other outpatient services.
“We’ve got a couple of things in the works to continue to make it a strong and sustainable service for McLean County,” Johnston said.
Extension tension
The county plans to greatly reduce its funding for 4-H and other education services through the regional Extension office next year. The Extension has about $2.7 million in reserves.
McIntyre said the Extension office should spend more of those reserves before asking for more money from the county.
“It’s not that we are asking them to cut services and that seems to be the issue,” McIntyre said. “If you give them less money, they are not cutting services. All they are doing is using money and putting the other (money) in reserves.”
Johnston said she's heard concerns about Extension management and some of its programming. She said the county board shouldn't meddle in that.
“It’s very difficult for me to be in a position where we are going to try to dictate to these programs how to operate because we don’t like this or that, when our job is to make sure they are fully funded,” Johnston said.
The Extension office also gets funding from Livingston and Woodford counties and the state of Illinois. The Extension office has said it will consider program and staff cuts if the county doesn't restore full funding next year.
County jail
The county board has had several high-profile disputes over jail management. Democrats on the board objected to the county charging inmates for calls, texts and live stream entertainment on county-issued tablets. Sheriff Jon Sandage bypassed the board and reworked a contractthat Democrats tried to stop.
Johnston said the county board doesn't intend to micromanage the sheriff or any other elected office. Those elected officers don't answer to the board. But Johnston said the board should be able to raise concerns when they see a contract they don't like.
“Being able to negotiate and to talk to the elected officials is important and to really make sure we are doing a good job of caring for staff, that we are caring for people that are in our custody,” she said.
McIntyre took exception to the Democrats' critique of jail operations.
“I’m not one who is going to get into working and helping jail inmates myself, as long as we are providing good services,” McIntyre said. “I think that got to be an issue I think was really uncalled for.”
10-10 split
Democrats became more vocal on certain issues in recent years as they moved in on majorities Republicans have held for decades. The board is currently split — 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Johnston said if Democrats win majority control, she doesn't think much would change.
“We have so many different departments that people don’t notice them until they start not running very smoothly,” said Johnston. “We want to make sure that service delivery is top priority.”
When it comes to party control, Johnston and McIntyre seem to agree.
“I just don’t fell that that’s such an issue as you might think,” McIntyre said. “Obviously, there are some philosophies on taxing and certain things like that that will come about, but overall if you’ve got a good system, the system should work.”
McIntyre said he believes county-level races should be non-partisan, like they are at the municipal level.
