The Will County Republican Party has high hopes for the consolidated elections in April, according to party Chairman Edward Ronkowski.
“We are looking forward to having some more gains in the local elections,” Ronkowski said. “We picked up four House seats when we got no extra House seats two years ago, so we are hoping to continue that trend and try and work toward a majority in the Illinois House.”
As for the local elections, Ronkowski said the party is still waiting to see who files to run and whether there are going to be any objections to their filing.
Edward Ronkowski said he wouldn’t speculate on what the big issues would be in each race, as the county has very distinct communities.
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“There are some contested races and some uncontested races,” Ronkowksi said, adding that he expects the race for mayor in Bolingbrook to be contested.
The last day to file objections is Tuesday, according to the Will County Clerk website. Feb. 2 is the last day to file a Declaration of Intent to be a write-in candidate for the April 4 election.
Ronkowski said he wouldn’t speculate on what the big issues would be in each race, as the county has very distinct communities.
“On the consolidated elections, it is all local elections – village, townships, park districts, library districts, fire districts and the like,” Ronkowski said.
He said that these elections are centered around issues that are important to each distinct community.
“One election was about whether a bridge was going to be built, another one was are they going to move into a new building or be frugal and live in existing buildings," he said "So it varies from township and village to township to village.”
Some of the issues that will be decided when residents cast a ballot demonstrate the uniqueness of each community. Coal City will consider a binding question on whether the village will become a Home Rule Unit, and in the village of Woodridge, voters will decide whether the village clerk should be appointed rather than elected. There also will be a proposition to increase the property tax extension limitation law for the road district in Wilton Township, a vote on whether to create a new tax rate for pension-fund purposes in the Troy Fire Protection District and a proposition to increase the limiting rate in the Wilmington Fire Protection District.
The GOP recently had a robust turnout for 11 local caucuses to nominate candidates.
“In a geographically large county with 307 precincts in 24 townships, the Will County Republican Central Committee (WCRCC) plays a major role in reaching our 407,702 registered voters,” the Will County Republican Party said in a statement. “The grassroots efforts of our precinct committeemen and volunteers in the WCRCC are the primary sources of energy and strength in achieving results for our party throughout Will County.”
The Republican Party website said the county has 307 precincts in 24 townships, with a total of 407,702 registered voters.
In the last general election, the county saw an 11.65 percent increase in Republican turnout and an increase of 11,100 Republican votes.
There have been two early-voting sites identified so far. The Will County Clerk’s Office and Homer Township will be open on Feb. 28 for Homer Township residents only.
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