Leer en español
Here’s a look at the candidates for DeKalb District five — incumbent Republican Savannah Ilenikhena and Democrat Veronica Martinez-Garcia. The district includes Afton, Cortland and Pierce townships.
Savannah Ilenikhena (R)
Savannah Ilenikhena has held the seat since 2022.
“I decided to run just to be an advocate, continue to be an advocate,” Ilenikhena said. “So, I've been an advocate for many years in DeKalb County.”
Ilenikhena said she’s committed to public service and advocates for equality, transparency and awareness of county programs.
“I feel like we can't get anywhere,” she said, “if individuals in our county are not aware of the opportunities, are not aware of the supports, are not aware of the services.”
The district includes Cortland, where she lives with her husband and five-year-old son. Ilenikhena grew up in Chicago and moved to the area to study at Kishwaukee College, then at Northern Illinois University. She went on to earn a doctorate in psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is the dean of student development at City Colleges of Chicago. Prior to that role, she held various jobs in the service sector including at Safe Passage — a domestic violence service agency, and with the county as a coordinator for its opioid diversion program.
DeKalb County Nursing Center
She said one of the issues she keeps track of is the senior tax levy. She sits on the Health and Human Services Committee that oversees programs for elders.
“There are concerns with taxes increase due to some of the things that going on in our county, with the expansion of our nursing home,” she said. “We were able to keep our nursing home, which is wonderful.”
In 2022, a county board vote failed that would have placed a referendum on the ballot asking the public whether they would support a tax increase to help fund the nursing home.
She was elected prior to the board vote to sell the nursing center, which faced financial troubles.
The sale of the facility spurred an outcry from the public. Ultimately, the sale fell through, and the home continues to be publicly owned.
“So, I stood on the line,” Ilenikhena said, “where I would have loved, and I am happy that we were able to find a solution for it, but I didn't want us to increase taxes and things of that nature for it either.”
She said she helped put together a subcommittee to oversee the home’s finances moving forward.
Housing
Cortland has seen new home construction, and she sees that trending as new economic development in DeKalb City draws folks to the area.
“It definitely is a need, because we are growing,” she said, but within Cortland, within our side, they're still selling a lot of the land that we have left to build homes on those. So, pretty soon, I see that it'll be less land and more of the homes, for sure.”
Hispanic population growth
Cortland, as with other areas of the county,has experienced growth in the Latino population. WNIJ asked what’s it like representing the whole community. Ilenikhena said she embraces everyone.
“The diversity of our community in Cortland is what allows us to continue to grow and make decisions that are best for everyone,” she said. “It's inclusive, so I'm happy for the growth that we have.”
Solar Panels
Regarding solar panel installation in the county, she's in support of it.
“I am firm believer,” she said, “that as long as it's within our rules and regulations to of where it should be placed and things of that nature, that individuals should be able to use what they're asking for in their property.”
Water
Water management has been on the mind in some surrounding counties, including Boone and McHenry counties, where they’ve hired staff to lead efforts to conserve water sources. That's in light of large business developments in the area that consume a lot of water.
She said she takes a fiscally conservative approach when asked if she would consider it important to invest in water management.
“When money is involved,” she said, “I'm always wondering ‘Where, where can we pull from? Grants? Resources?”
Veronica Garcia-Martinez (D)
Veronica Garcia-Martinez is a bilingual education teacher in the DeKalb school district. The Democrat says her students motivate her to run for the DeKalb County Board.
“I always tell them, ‘You're powerful, you're important,’ but they don't feel it, so I have to demonstrate it by myself being powerful, important in their eyes,” Garcia-Martinez said. “And the one thing that I did was choose to run, so, that they could see that just like them, I grew up just like them, that one day they could be what I'm trying to be.”
This is Garcia-Martinez' first time running for office. She said her involvement in the community includes volunteering with the local Lions Club and previously sitting on the DeKalb Public Library Board. She’s currently pursuing her master’s in education at NIU.
Latino representation in local government
She said a major issue facing the county is racial tensions towards Latinos in the community.
According to the 2020 census, Hispanics make up about 14 percent of the county’s population. That’s a four percent increase from the previous count.
“I live in Cortland,” Garcia-Martinez said, “and we have a very large Latino population there, and they feel isolated, they feel unheard, and they feel mistreated.”
She said having Latino representation in government is key to addressing the issue.
“By having more Latinos in various positions,” she said, “it's going to start showing that, ‘hey, we're here, we're not going anywhere.’”
Garcia-Martinez was among a dozen residents who spoke at a county board meeting against a resolution proposal to declare the county a so-called “non-sanctuary.” She said the text resolution was laden with negative perceptions of immigrants.
“It puts so many people at risk and in fear by us creating that environment,” she said, “that's unnecessary here.”
She said as a county board member she would seek to increase more Latino and Spanish speakers in county government to ensure that language is not a barrier to receiving services.
“Sometimes there is no one there (a person who speaks Spanish), ‘come back later,’” she said. “Should anybody who pays taxes in this community be told, ‘Hold on, come back later?’ Would a white person tolerate, ‘Hold on, come back later so we can find someone to talk to you?’ They wouldn't.”
Business development education
Garcia-Martinez said as a board member another area she’d focus on is increasing access to information about businesses development opportunities in the county.
“There has to be more education put out there for community members who want to open businesses, and for those that don't have $100,000 to put down to open,” she said.
The NIU graduate launched her own businesm, Tinez Tacos, in 2013 and recently sold it. Garcia-Martinez grew up in Chicago, and said she’s lived in DeKalb County on and off since 1999. She's lived in Cortland for nearly a decade, and has three teenaged children. Before pursuing education, she worked at several nonprofit organizations including the Epilepsy Foundation.
Housing
She said one of her concerns regarding housing is the need to establish standards for the upkeep of low-income housing. She said guidelines must be in place, if they aren’t already, for property owners to follow.
“How should they be maintained?” she said. “And if they're not following the guidelines then tenants can start saying, ‘Hey, you know what our building does not look like this, we need someone to come in and inspect. Give the guidelines so that the renters then know, ‘hey, this is what the expectation is of the person that's renting to me.’”
Water management and solar panels
On issues like water management and land use, she said it’s important that board members seek to educate themselves and learn how other communities are resolving similar matters.
“Solar panels are great,” she said. “Does it mean I want them in the cornfields? No. But why aren't we putting them on parking garages or on the top of big, giant buildings that nobody can see off of? There has to be creative solutions to these problems.”
The DeKalb County fifth district board seat is one of several competitive races for the DeKalb County Board. The results of this election will determine which party gains control of the board. Currently, Democrats hold a slim majority with 13 of 24 county board seats.
