Jeff Schielke
Kane County’s longest-serving mayors are facing challenges to keep their seats in the April election.
Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, who has been in office almost 44 years, is being challenged by former alderman Thomas Connelly.
Thomas M. Connelly
Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns will face Karsten Pawlik in his bid for reelection. Burns has been mayor since 2001. Pawlik is operations manager for a demolition company owned by his wife.
Monday was the deadline for local candidates to place their names on the April ballot. Here’s a look at who’s running for mayor or village president in some of the other races to watch in Kane County:
Carpentersville
Village President John Skillman and Trustee Brenda Sandoval are seeking the top elected seat in Carpentersville.
Skillman, who did not face a challenger in his last election, is seeking a third term as village president.
“Things are going well in the village of Carpentersville, and there’s lots of new projects starting up that I’d love to see through,” Skillman said.
East Dundee
East Dundee voters will be electing a new village president in the spring.
Village President Jeff Lynam has decided not to run again.
At the end of his term, he will have served on the village board for 18 years, including the last four as village president. “I gave it some closer thought and realized that 18 years was enough,” said Lynam, who added he hopes to spend more time at his home in Arizona.
The two candidates seeking to replace Lynam as village president are Daniel Pearson and Trustee Sarah Brittin.
Brittin was elected to the village board in 2021. Pearson ran an unsuccessful bid for village trustee in 2023.
Elsewhere
St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek will face retired judge Clint Hull. Vitek is seeking a second term.
There will be a two-person race for village president in Huntley. Incumbent Timothy J. Hoeft will face a challenge from longtime Trustee John M. Piwko.
Incumbent Jen Konen will face Susan Stillwell for Sugar Grove village president.
In Sleepy Hollow, two trustees — Jennifer McGuire and Courtney Boe — filed petitions for the village president seat.
Meanwhile, Aurora
Three of the six candidates running for mayor in Aurora are fighting to stay on the ballot.
Mayor Richard Irvin is seeking a third term. The other candidates are Alderman-at-large John Laesch, 3rd Ward Alderman Ted Mesiacos, former alderman Judd Lofchie, Karina Garcia and Jazmine Garcia.
If all six candidates remain, there will be a primary in February to reduce the list to two contestants. But if two or more candidates are removed, there will not be a primary.
Laesch, Jazmine Garcia and Karina Garcia could be removed from the ballot if attempts to challenge their nominating petitions are successful. The Aurora Municipal Electoral Board is reviewing the challenges.
During a hearing on Monday, the attorney for the electoral board said 77 invalid signatures appear to be invalid on Jazmine Garcia’s petition, leaving her short. However, Garcia is disputing the number of signatures required for the mayor position.
In addition, Laesch, Karina Garcia and Jazmine Garcia are fighting claims that they illegally formed a de facto political party for the nonpartisan election and that the two Garcias are merely sham candidates. They collected signatures for each other, and Jazmine Garcia notarized some of Laesch’s petition pages.
Jazmine Garcia’s attorney told the board that, under state law, it does not have the authority to rule on the issue of the supposed sham candidacies.
Laesch said after the hearing that he supported the other candidates to give Aurora voters a choice.
When asked whether she really wants to be mayor, Jazmine Garcia responded that she supports Laesch. “He is a mayor for the people,” she said.
Garcia said their “common denominator” is to get Irvin out of office. She added that she has long been interested in politics.
The hearing for Karina Garcia resumes on Thursday morning. In addition to the sham candidacy contention, she is accused of not being registered to vote at the residence listed on her petition, not putting her full name on the petition, and not filing a valid economic interest statement.