Will County Gazette

Darren Bennefield wasn't waiting for 2018 to get started on his re-election bid.

The Will County Board member kicked off his campaign with a June 15 fundraiser at Gruben's Uptown Tap in Plainfield with an eye toward generating enough revenue ahead of time that he will know his budget when his campaign gets into high gear. In fact, being good at budgeting is one of the things he says the board needs.

“My business experience gives me insight on how to balance budgets.” Bennefield, who owns a title insurance business, told the Will County Gazette. "“I am serving as a district Will County Board member presently, so I do have experience and knowledge of what’s going on with the county at this time. We’ve been providing a responsible, representative government for everyone."

Bennefield was elected to the board in 2014 and says he has come to understand residents' concerns.

“I think they are most concerned about taxes," he said. "In Will County, we’ve continued to reduce the levy rates over the last three budgets in an attempt to lower the tax burden. They’re concerned about where our tax dollars are being spent.”

But taxes aren't the only thing on their minds, he said.

“I think they are also concerned about public safety," Bennefield said. "We continue to fund projects on roads and make sure that the people of Will County are able to get around safely."

Bennefield said he also knows there will always be other issues that arise, and he wants to be prepared.

“We've got a lot of projects going on right now," he said. "Our big projects right now are really capital improvements. We are right now building a new sheriff’s facility. We’re in the middle of construction, and that should be completed approximately within the next six months.” 

A new courthouse is also on the agenda for downtown Joliet, which should break ground in 2018 and be completed in two years, he said.