Three resign from Knox County Board for personal reasons

GALESBURG — The Knox County Board has shrunk in size after it accepted the resignations of three of its board members, during a Tuesday meeting.

Roland ‘Rollie’ Paulsgrove (R),  John Hunigan (D) and Tara Wilder (D) have all officially stepped down from their positions on the Knox County Board. Paulsgrove, Wilder and board member Todd Olinger were absent from the meeting.

Hunigan — a Democrat who represented District 2, the northeast sector of the city — said he was resigning from the board because he is moving out of District 2 in order to pursue another opportunity and thought the seat should be filled by someone committed to the district.

"It's been an honor to serve on this board,” Hunigan said. “It was a very difficult decision for me to do, but as I said, it is the needs of the constituents that always outweigh individual desires. And so I thought that it was best that we have somebody who is going to be in the district for the full term."

Hunigan was elected to the Knox County Board in 2016 and worked on the Knox County Nursing Home committee. He said he would not rule out running again for a seat in the future. 

“I told him I burnt his resignation 10 times,” Chairman of the Board Jared Hawkinson said before voting in favor of accepting Hunigan’s resignation.

Hawkinson said Paulsgrove and Wilder both stepped down due to personal reasons. 

“I won't speak for them, but they did a very good job, both of them,” Hawkinson said.

Paulsgrove — a Republican who represented District 1, the northwest sector of the city — joined the county board in 2019 to fill a vacancy, though he had served on the county board before from 2010 to 2014 and had also served in Galesburg's city council for 16 years.

Wilder — a Democrat who represented District 3, the south half sector of the city — was elected to the Knox County Board in 2017.

Moving forward, the Knox County Clerk’s office will notify the political parties of the resigned board members. The political parties will then caucus and submit a name to Hawkinson, requesting that that person temporarily fill the party’s vacancy on the board.

Hawkinson said the Knox County Board will likely vote to confirm those temporary board appointments in the next couple of weeks. 

The people who are chosen and certified by the board to temporarily fill the seats of Paulsgrove, Hunigan and Wilder will only fill those positions until the Nov. 8 general election and will not be on the general election's ballot.

There are a total of 15 seats on the Knox County Board, as the board holds three seats for each of its five districts. Elections are held every four years to elect members onto the board.

Up to three candidates from each party may enter the state's general election to represent a district on the Knox County Board. This means that a total of six candidates for each district can be on the ballot during the general election.

But as there are only three seats on the Knox County Board for each district, voters may only select three candidates during the general election to represent each district.

Looking at the results of Illinois' recent June 28 primary election, current board members Darla Krejci and Cheryl Nache both won the Democratic primary to continue representing County Board District 1. Anthony Weiss, who ran unopposed from his party, won the Republican primary for County Board District 1.

As only three candidates entered the race to represent District 1, all three are slated to gain a seat on the board after the upcoming general election to represent District 1 for the next four years.

In District 2, Greg “Chops” Bacon, now former board member Hunigan and current board member David Amor have all won the Democratic primary for County Board District 2. Stephen Johnson, Brent A. Zhorne and current board member Robert “Bob” Bondi had all won the Republican primary for County Board District 2. 

The remaining five candidates will now compete during the upcoming general election and the three that gain the most votes will gain a seat on the board to represent District 2 for the next four years.

In District 3, Samuel Cohen, Kimberly Thierry and current board member Pamela Davidson have all won the Democratic primary for County Board District 3. Samuel F. Larson and Dale A. Jacobs both won the Republican primary for County Board District 3. 

The five candidates will compete during the general election and the three candidates that gain the most votes will gain a seat on the board to represent District 3 for the next four years.