Democrats in McLean County find themselves in an unusual position heading into this election.
For the first time, the party is looking to hold on to power on the county board.
McLean County's main governing body had historically been led by Republicans. That is, until 2024, when Democrats won a majority of seats on the 20-member board. Democrats hold 12 seats, all in Bloomington-Normal.
Republicans hold eight seats, mostly representing smaller communities and rural areas.
While city dwellers may interact more with their municipal government and may pay more attention to state and national issues and races, county government can impact your life in a lot of ways. Even if many are unaware.
“The one thing we always hear from the public is most people don’t understand what county [government] does,” said county board chair Elizabeth Johnston, a Democrat. “I say that is probably for a good reason. Most people don’t interact with county offices unless they are having a very, very bad day. Whether they are interacting with the coroner’s office, or with the sheriff’s department, or with the court system.”
The county funds the sheriff's office, the jail and the health department that offers a range of programs — everything from immunizations to mental health first aid to restaurant inspections. County government also owns and operates a 150-bed nursing home. It manages emergency warning sirens throughout the largest land mass county in the state. It's about the size of Rhode Island. The county hosts amenities, including Comlara Park and Evergreen Lake.
The county government also oversees elections — outside of Bloomington. The county clerk is on the ballot this year as 16-year incumbent, Republican Kathy Michael, faces a challenge from Democrat Joshua Crockett.
The county's proposed annual budget for next year is about $150 million. County board members approve the budget. They are set to do so next month before the new board is sworn in.
There are two county board members in each of 10 districts. Board members serve two and four-year terms. Most of those districts are concentrated in the population center of Bloomington-Normal — and that is where Democrats have made gains.
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Trending blue
In each of the last four elections dating back to 2018, Democrats added seats on the McLean County Board. The Republican Party in McLean County had a 15-to-5 majority in 2016 when Donald Trump was first elected president. Now, the GOP has 8 seats.
“There’s been a growing power about the Democrat Party here in McLean County and I think people [need to] wake up and realize they fell asleep at the switch,” said McLean County Republican Party Chair Connie Beard.
She maintains the party's losses come down to money.
“I think you can chart the advancement of the Democratic Party in our county correlates directly with the amount of money that has been poured into the county form various sources, whether you look at what Gov. Pritzker has funneled in, what the major trade unions have funneled in,” Beard said.
Campaign filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections back that up.
The Democratic Party has raised substantially more than McLean County Republicans. That includes a recent $75,000 gift from Pritzker's re-election campaign along with substantial union support.
Patrick Cortesi chairs the McLean County Democratic Party. He acknowledged fundraising is a part of the party's success in recent elections, adding Democrats have also outworked the opposition.
“[We are] knocking on thousands and thousands of doors, making phone calls, sending texts, raising money, showing the voters of McLean County that we deserve to be in charge of their tax dollars,” Cortesi said.
Why it matters
The party in charge helps set the county's policy agenda. The majority party generally has the votes to elect the chairperson of its choice, appoint committees where county board members do most of their legislative work and have a better chance to get their priorities passed.
Johnston, the Democrat who assumed county board chair in 2024, said the county board under her leadership has prioritized investments in infrastructure and the county's building and property maintenance.
“We’ve been focused on building out energy efficiencies in the [county-owned] buildings, kinda lowering that energy need. There’s a lot of things that we are trying to do that are setting McLean County up for a more solid future,” Johnston said, adding those investments will save the county money in the long run.
The county government also has maintained mental health as a priority; in the last year it's started to spend more of sales tax funding it's been collecting for the last decade.
Part of that funding supported construction of the new shelter village of tiny homes in Bloomington. The county started getting sales tax money out the door after considerable pushback from the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal — arguing through internal communications the county was sitting on a big pile of money. Those municipalities have threatened to sue the county over its fund balance of about $20 million.
Taxes
The county was able to boost its spending on building maintenance in part by bringing in more tax revenue. The county has lowered its tax rate the last three years, but is still bringing in more money because of higher taxable land values.
Hiring at Rivian, State Farm and other large employers brought more people to the community. That increased demand for housing and thus increased property values. So despite the dropping tax rate, taxpayers are paying more to McLean County government.
Johnston countered that the county's bills have gone up, too.
“What I would ask people to understand is that governments, like everyone else, [are] subject to rising costs of inflation, rising costs of health care,” said Johnston, noting the county’s health care costs have increased 22% year-to-year.
One added expense county board members declined this year was an increase in their own pay. Board salaries haven't changed in a decade. It took Republicans voting in unison with the help of several Democrats to kill the measure to raise pay for future board members nearly 30%.
Beard said that vote in May demonstrates why the county needs more Republican representation.
“To me, it’s kind of a prime example of what we are up against, and there is no reason to believe that those county board people will not want to come back — definitely if they have more control of the board — and [in doing] so, raise our costs, raise our taxes,” Beard said.
Midterms
The county board races come in the context of a national midterm election in which Democrats are expected to gain seats in Congress. That's typical during a Republican administration — and it's perhaps amplified by the president's record low approval ratings.
Beard said it could be a challenge for Republicans to win back control in McLean County, but she hopes the anti-incumbent sentiment also works at the state and local level where Democrats are in control. She's counting on them to sit out this election.
“Or Democrats deciding they are tired of the chaos that’s being created and the influx of ultra-progressive, ultra-liberal and, in some cases, socialist principles that are entering into the political world,” Beard said.
When asked where she sees socialism at the local level, Beard referenced former county board member Krystle Able and noted she endorsed her successor, District 5 Democrat William Bessler, who is running to keep the seat against Republican Jerry Klinkner.
Able, the Normal Township supervisor who describes herself as a progressive, resigned from the county board last year.
Bessler responded by email saying he’s focusing his campaign about broadening access to health care, strengthening the local economy and expanding clean energy infrastructure.
“McLean County Republicans focus on calling everyone a socialist because their vision for our community is bankrupt and they have a record of failure," Bessler said.
If Republicans win back control of the county board, they could likely elect a new chair. Beard said there are a few willing candidates, but didn't name names.
"I believe in the democratic system of letting our county board members decide who they want to have," she said.
Johnston said if the Democrats hold on to the majority, she intends to run for board chair again.
“At this point, I do have the support and I am interested in maintaining that leadership post,” Johnston said.
Cortesi said he's cautiously optimistic the Democrats will grow their majority.
“I think the national mood right now is being felt in McLean County,” he said.
WGLT's Ryan Denham contributed to this report.
