Mayor

This spring, Kankakee County voters get to decide who will make the important decisions regarding their communities, schools, townships, fire departments, parks and libraries.

Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski spoke with Illinois Valley Editor Derek Barichello on the issues facing Peru ahead of the April 1 election

Read the transcript from our candidate question podcast: Manteno Village President candidate Annette LaMore on Gotion and more

Annette LaMore, a candidate for Manteno Mayor, explains her vision for Manteno ahead of the April 1 election.

Read the transcript from our candidate question podcast: Manteno Mayor candidate Joel Gesky on Gotion and more

Joel Gesky, a candidate for Manteno Mayor, explains why he feels he deserves to win the April 1 election

Read the transcript from our Batavia Mayoral candidate forum podcast: Thomas Connelly and Jeffery Schielke on what they want to see in Batavia in the future

Thomas Connelly and Jeffery Schielke, candidates for Batavia Mayor, talk about the main issues facing Batavia with Shaw Local reporter Joey Weslo ahead of the April 1 election

Peru mayor candidate Doug Bernabei spoke with Illinois Valley Editor Derek Barichello on the issues facing Peru ahead of the April 1 election

Transcript: John Walker, a candidate for Mayor of DeKalb, answered questions about his positions on the issues facing the city, including roundabouts, from Shaw Local’s Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead

John Walker, a candidate for Mayor of DeKalb, answered questions about his positions on the issues facing the city from Shaw Local’s Kelsey Rettke and Megann Horstead. Get the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts

Michael Kelly on top priorities for Harvard: The top three priority areas are Infrastructure Improvements, Economic Development, and Efficient Effective City Government

Mark Pietrowski: We will continue to seek out economic development opportunities in Cortland to grow and diversify our tax base for the future.

Douglas Corson on a top priority for Cortland: Bring businesses to Cortland!! I have already started the process and have a few businesses working with me now

Incumbent Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns and candidate Karsten Pawlik engaged in a spirited debate in a forum hosted by the Shaw Local News Network. Read the transcript from the candidate forum here

Incumbent Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns and candidate Karsten Pawlik debated the issues facing Geneva in the 2025 election for Mayor in a candidate forum on March 12

Joel Gesky on top priorities for Manteno: Continued financial stability, Improved transparency, Healing of a bruised community

Charles Steele: We are improving our water treatment system to meet environmental standards more efficiently and economically

Annette LaMore on a top priority for Manteno: Address current health and safety concerns regarding the type of businesses we allow in our community

Paul Hereley: I believe local law enforcement should be able to assist in identifying and holding undocumented migrants that are a threat to the safety of the public

Mark Kownick: Being an advocate for affordable workforce housing as well as affordable senior housing is critical to an overall healthy community

Listen to our newest podcast or read the transcript: Candidates for DeKalb Mayor talk about their top priorities ahead of the upcoming election

Genevra Walters on a top priority for Kankakee: Community policing is a strategy that emphasizes building ties and working closely with members of the community to enhance public safety and trust in law enforcement

Christopher Curtis on a top priority for Kankakee: Public Safety: This was the number 1 priority 4 years ago and will always remain the top priority. We will continue on the same path as the past 3 years, as it has been effective

David Boelk: We are improving our downtown and enhancing our parks to have a nice place for employees to want to live

John Walker: When it comes to public safety in our community there is nothing that I will let stand in the way and that includes money

Kouame Sanan: In my opinion, staffing the city for first responders is necessary, and I believe it is adequate because it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Linh Nguyen: More can always be done to ease taxpayer burdens. Our airport is a tremendous opportunity that is underutilized.

Cohen Barnes: One of the key ways we will continue to ease taxpayer burdens is by attracting more retail businesses and restaurants to DeKalb

Colton Otto: We should actively support local businesses by streamlining permits, ensuring business-friendly zoning and eliminating unnecessary regulations.

Todd Latham on a top priority for Sandwich: Infrastructure: Streets, Water, Sewer, Storm Sewer by applying for Federal and State grants with local matching funds or obtaining low interest rate loans

Trustee Jeff Keast defeated four-term incumbent mayor Paul Schore in Tuesday’s Bourbonnais Citizen’s Party primary race.

Shallen Gross: I am looking forward to working with the community to make sure that they are safe and that shelter is a priority for everyone

Jeff Grove on the biggest issue facing La Salle: Biggest opportunity is to continue to grow the General Fund. The City has currently been doing this by cutting spending, applying for and getting grants, and by growing our sales tax base, primarily in Downtown

What is the greatest issue facing La Salle? Gary Hammers: Our city’s poor tax revenue. Our city’s poor tax revenue is a direct result of inadequate support for local businesses

What is the greatest issue facing La Salle? Jamie Hicks: The greatest issue facing La Salle today is a lack of transparency, accountability, and responsible leadership in local government

Tyler Thompson: The greatest issue I feel is the lack of funding which stall the maintenance and development of the city

Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes discusses the city budget for this upcoming fiscal year and the slate of city council budget meetings to prepare the budget.

What is the biggest issue facing Peru? Douglas Bernabei: The city is now living paycheck to paycheck. Should the current practices of the incumbent mayor continue the city will no doubt be forced to have massive property tax increase, cuts in service or both

What ideas do you have to grow Peru? Ken Kolowski: Continue to build on our newly developed industrial park, continue to grow our retail base like Popeyes and Ollie’s keep growing Pohar subdivision in which 20 new homes have been built

Lora Vitek: The dam is important to me as it is to most residents and businesses in our Community. The Fox River is integral to our City and it is incumbent upon us to understand all the facts as it relates to keeping or removing the dam.

Clint Hull on redeveloping the Charlestowne Mall property: This is the number one issue our community talks to me about, and while I recognize that it is a tough one to solve, it does not mean that it is unsolvable

Kevin Burns: Economic development and environmental sustainability are not mutually exclusive goals. Geneva's commitment to both goals allow us to strike a balance when courting development and collaborating with interested developers

Top priority for Geneva? Karsten Pawlik: Bring back representative government to the city by restoring the power of the alderman. Currently City Government is upside down with the mayor and staff deciding what to address and vote on.

NAACP hosting Kankakee mayoral debate

Joliet is proposing the establishment of a citizen advisory committee to assist the City Council in developing the city’s comprehensive plan. The ordinance will be presented at Tuesday’s regular council meeting.

Lockport Alderman Darren Deskin plans to challenge incumbent Mayor Steven Streit for his seat in the April 1 election, suggesting term limits are needed

Lions Electric, manufacturer of electric buses and trucks, did not provide details on its future plans for its Joliet factory. Mayor Terry D’Arcy said he believes operations stopped as of Monday.

DeKalb resident Linh Nguyen’s name will not appear on the April 1 ballot for mayor after the DeKalb Electoral Board ruled Tuesday she filed her papers outside of the window “required by law.” Nguyen said she plans to appeal.

Petitions for candidacy in the upcoming April 1, 2025 elections for Lockport city offices and school boards are due between Nov. 12 and Nov. 18.