A politically divided McLean County Board could tilt in the Democrats' favor for the first time ever with seats up for grabs in November's election that could upset the 10-10 split between the two parties.
Democrat Elizabeth Johnston aims to hold her spot in District 5 that covers northeast Normal. She is opposed by Republican Chad Berck. It's his second bid for a spot on the county board after unsuccessfully vying for the vacant District 5 seat filled by Randall Knapp.
Knapp was appointed in 2023 after John McIntyre's resignation for health reasons, and is running against Buck Farley to retain his seat.
Born and raised south of Springfield in Taylorville, Berck attended Illinois State University after serving in the military. He and his wife have three children and permanently settled in the area in 2007. Berck said McLean County is a great place to live and chose it, in part, because of the public school system.
Noticing his involvement in town council and school board meetings, friends encouraged him to get involved in local government. He admitted he still has a lot to learn and wants the opportunity to study the issues.
“I just feel that I might be an option for the voters here in McLean County,” Berck said. “That’s why I’m running.”
Johnston has served on the county board since 2018 and is currently vice chair.
“We moved here; we chose this community, and we loved it,” Johnston said. “I wanted to stand up and do some work for it.”
Johnston is a licensed clinical social worker and operates a private counseling practice. She said despite the board's 10-10 party line split, members have been able to cooperate.
“Ninety, 95% of the time we agree unanimously,” said Johnston. “The meetings can be really dry.”
Information and access have been areas Johnston has focused on. She was part of a wave of newcomers who pushed through a change moving meetings to evenings. And she writes a summary of key issues ahead of each meeting and posts it to her website and Facebook page.
“If you go read the newspaper and that was what happened last night, and we already voted, it’s done. No more public comment. No more input from people,” Johnston said.
Meetings are now video live streamed, too. And changes have been made to the public comment period. Johnston also has worked to cut costs by improving energy efficiency in county buildings.
Another potential cost-cutting measure, she said, is eliminating the elected auditor position. A referendum to do just that is on the ballot in November. Berck opposes removing the elected county auditor, saying an appointed auditor could breed corruption.
“The only way to guarantee true freedom is to be beholden to the taxpayer, to the voter,” Berck said. “That’s it.”
Balancing services with cost
On several issues, Berck and Johnston agree.
Both are leery of running carbon sequestration lines running through McLean County should a moratorium be lifted, noting the potential contamination of a primary water source, the Mahomet Aquifer. Both see the county in a potential oversight role for addressing the housing shortage. Both are passionate about mental health. And both know that serving citizens of McLean County costs money — which mostly comes from taxpayers.
“There are basic services which have to be paid for by the county board,” said Berck, who considers himself a “common sense conservative.”
Expenses paid for by a tax levy include the McLean County Jail, law enforcement and the health department, plus a county-run nursing home, which Berck said is non-negotiable.
“Without the county nursing home, these residents that are on Medicaid would not have a bed, would not have food,” Berck said. “It’s necessary that we have this, and I think this is a jewel that the county has.”
Johnston said she wants to see the recently reorganized Behavior Health Coordinating Council shift from planning into action. And both candidates support putting more resources into mental health by partnering with existing agencies and, potentially, as a direct service provider.
“If this is a priority of our community, that’s something we need to be hearing,” Johnston said. “Do we want to be putting extra resources in?”
A murder-suicide in Normal this spring revealed cracks in the systems that support mental health and victims of domestic violence. Amy Moore was shot and killed by her ex-husband, who struggled with mental illness. The victim lived in District 5 and was Johnston's neighbor.
“This was personal,” said Johnston. “Dealing with domestic violence, dealing with the police, dealing with our legal system— it’s complicated. I am frustrated like many people that we have so many pieces in our system that don’t work well together. It costs money to have extra staff — and we need extra staff if we want to try to dig in and understand some of these pieces.”
Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting is underway.
