Will County Gazette

Will County Board member Rachel Ventura is dedicated to serving the residents of District 9 and doing her best to make the government work for everyone. 

“My goals are to make the county greener, to encourage the development of housing that meets the needs of all income levels, to improve transportation infrastructure, to decrease opioid-related deaths and to work on tourism initiatives that will grow our economy,” Ventura told Will County Gazette.

Ventura, who became a Will County Board member in November 2018, has enjoyed collaborating with the board to reach consensus on a number of issues.

Will County Board member Rachel Ventura

“My favorite experience was working with different local community governing boards to move the community of Fairmont’s water over to Joliet’s water system to provide long-term, clean, affordable water,” she said. “The intergovernmental agreement required patience and professional communication between all interested parties.”

Ventura was born in Oaklawn and raised in Joliet, where she currently lives. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Benedictine University and later returned to school to study biology at Tidewater Community College in Virginia. She currently works as the business director for international publishing company Legendary Games.

Ventura participates in community theater events at the Bicentennial Community Theater, sings on the Joliet High School Alumni Choir, serves on the Heritage Corridor Convention Bureau, volunteers for her daughter’s Girl Scouts troop, and belongs to the multi-cultural coalition, the I-80 coalition and the Will County Regional Sustainability Network. She also helps local veterans as a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and raises money for the county’s forest preserve by serving on the Nature Foundation.

Ventura is also challenging U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Joliet) in the 2020 election.

“I have volunteered countless hours over the course of my lifetime and the hard work of campaigning came naturally to me,” she said. “I feel that I have made a difference even when I lost my first political race because some of the ideas that I brought to the campaign trail have been enacted. In 2017, I campaigned on the idea that Joliet could refurbish the old prison and turn it into a tourist attraction. It was very exciting attending the second Prison Break In event this summer.”

Although her spare time is very limited, Ventura likes to play board games with her family, travel with her two daughters, and paint.