Outgoing Lake County Board members air grievances, reflect on time in local politics as they exit office – Chicago Tribune

Vernon Hills Democrat Julie Simpson didn’t quite think she’d find herself at such odds with new Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, a fellow Democrat, after she won former County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor’s vacated District 18 seat in 2018.

But Simpson’s self-described “tell it like it is” politics emboldened her to speak her mind on issues throughout her term, which occasionally drew her into clashes with Hart, especially as Simpson’s positions evolved on divisive topics like the county’s gas tax.

Simpson was one of five Lake County Board members — along with District 3 member Dick Barr, R-Round Lake Beach; District 8 member Steve Snarski, D-Waukegan; District 16 member Terry Wilke, D-Round Lake Beach; and District 19 member Catherine Sbarra, R-Lake Zurich — to exit office earlier this month.

In an exit interview with the News-Sun, Simpson didn’t hold back on the criticism for Hart and a Democratic majority that she believes is scared to step out of line, saying she considers Hart “a narcissist” who is like “Trump and Madigan rolled into one.”

“It’s unconditional loyalty, that’s the only thing (Hart) wants,” Simpson said. You’re only good to her if you’re like unconditionally loyal.”

Simpson could have opted to run for the board again in a new District 3, home to longtime Republican member Ann Maine after the remapping, in which the Lake County Board also shrank from 21 seats to 19.

Instead of challenging Maine, she hoped to “fly under the radar” through the petition objection period and challenge District 15 Democrat Jennifer Clark, which folded in much of Simpson’s old district, but was removed from the ballot for not residing in the district at the time of candidate filings.

Hart has previously defended the decision to split up Vernon Hills, which was not the only area to be divided among multiple districts, by speaking of intense pushback and hundreds of requests the County Board received about keeping the Barrington communities together after a drafted map had them split.

Sbarra, a first-term Republican from Lake Zurich, saw her community split between multiple districts as her residence was also drawn narrowly into District 17, incumbent Fox River Grove Republican Michael Danforth’s district.

Like Simpson, Sbarra attempted to work around the remap before ultimately being booted off the ballot.

“It was really nasty and dirty what they did to me, so you can print that,” Sbarra told the News-Sun. “I fought as hard as I could for the people, really, to stay in the position despite the unfairness that was done unto me. I fought back as much as I could, and as long as I could, in the courts.”

Sbarra later helped Kim Lynch of Hawthorn Woods in her losing campaign in District 18 against Sara Knizhnik of Vernon Hills.

“I am proud of what we accomplished while they were on the board, and I hope they are too,” Hart wrote in a text message in response to criticisms from outgoing members of the County Board. “I look forward to continuing to partner with my colleagues and others for the people of Lake County.”

Among her take-aways from public office, Sbarra said as she considers a move out of state, is that people in government, “don’t work together for the best interest of the people.”

“I tried as much as I could to be helpful to the community,” Sbarra said. “But at the same time, I really felt most of the time defeated and it wasn’t very easy to do things that you want to get done because basically (Republicans) are outnumbered. Really, they don’t work together.”

Sbarra said she does not plan to be involved in politics for some time and will focus on running her own business, while Simpson filed this month to run this spring for a seat on the Hawthorn Woods District 73 board, where she first waded into local politics before joining the County Board.

Simpson called that position a “less power-hungry job,” and said she gets along with her former board colleagues well, before emphasizing that she only merits the job if it’s “what the community wants.”

She hopes that other members of the County Board are bold enough to speak out about disagreements with how Hart operates, if they have the same concerns.

“Sandy never forgets,” Simpson said. “When Sandy did what she did to me, there were several members who were very uncomfortable and unhappy with it. And they said at the time, ‘Well, if we don’t go along with it, she’s just going to do the same thing to us.’

“So there’s like an element of fear where people can’t make good decisions or govern or move forward because she will hold it against them and like punish them,” Simpson added.

Other outgoing board members took different approaches to their exit interviews, as outspoken Republican Barr chose not to slam Hart, who he frequently criticized throughout his term.

“I’m most proud of having used my communication style to open up the process to more people with the hopes they can feel more involved in THEIR government,” Barr said over text. “Additionally, achieving a zero based budget for accounting, ushering in the county’s first truly flat levy in at least two decades, and permanently ending pension participation by elected County Board members.”

He said his time on the board help him realize how much he loves “helping people” and that more emphasis should be given to local authorities in Lake County instead of “sweeping controls levied by the County Board.”

“What’s good for Moraine Township may not be good for Antioch Township and visa versa,” Barr added.

Wilke, who was on the board since 2008, spoke of his hopes to see the County Board continue to focus on environmental issues, where he has been pleased to see bipartisan cooperation in recent years.

“The responsible bidder’s ordinance (for construction projects) was a big deal and we’re super proud that we got that passed,” Wilke said. “The net zero (carbon emissions) by 2040, very proud of that. The tree initiative is not complete yet, so I’m really hoping with the new board, I have a lot of faith in them and I really hope they push that hard.”

Wilke mounted a long shot campaign against Grayslake trustee Laura Faver Dias for the 62nd District seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, garnering 10.25% of the vote. He plans to dedicate his time now to running his charity, Avon Cares, which has previously operated a food pantry and has run donation campaigns for back-to-school shopping and to support people who are homeless.

Snarski, who was appointed to Bill Durkin’s vacated seat in April and lost a primary to longtime County Board Democrat Diane Hewitt, could not be reached for comment.