Enough is Enough: Will County Families Deserve Fiscal Responsibility, Not Higher Taxes

On November 20, 2025, I attended the Will County Board meeting in Joliet, where one of the most consequential votes of the year was on the table: approving the budget and setting the tax levy for the 2026 fiscal year. For homeowners and taxpayers across Will County—already carrying some of the heaviest tax burdens in Illinois—the outcome of this vote mattered.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, I spoke directly to the Board and the County Executive, urging them to approve a 0% levy. Families and businesses across our county have been forced to tighten their belts, and it is only fair that county government do the same. Residents are demanding accountability and relief.

I know this firsthand. While collecting signatures door-to-door in Joliet’s 37th Precinct, the number-one issue residents raised was taxes—consistently, repeatedly, and urgently.

After hours of debate, the County Board ultimately voted to adopt a 0% tax levy by a narrow 12–10 vote. All 11 Republican board members and one Democrat stood with the taxpayers. Their decision was the right one—but it was immediately clear the County Executive, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, and several Democrat board members were far from pleased.

I personally witnessed the County Executive’s chief of staff, Mike Mahoney, pacing anxiously between Bertino-Tarrant and Board Speaker Joe VanDuyne as Democrats scrambled to salvage a tax increase even after the Board voted not to raise taxes. That’s when Kevin Meyers from the State’s Attorney’s Office stepped in to argue that the budget could not be balanced without additional revenue.

That claim didn’t hold up for long.

When questioned, Budget Director ReShawn Howard revealed that Will County currently holds more than $94 million in reserve funds—approximately 33% of the corporate budget. She further admitted county policy requires only a 25% reserve. That means the county has significantly more than it needs on hand.

This raises serious questions:

• If the county is sitting on tens of millions more than required, why is a tax increase even being considered?
• How long has this excess been accumulating?
• Why not use a portion of the surplus to address any temporary budget gap?
• And if the reserves are truly that far over policy, will taxpayers ever see any of that money returned?

Despite these revelations, County Executive Bertino-Tarrant is now signaling she may veto the board’s budget entirely. That looks less like responsible governance and more like political sour grapes—especially now that taxpayers know the county has the funds to avoid raising taxes at all.

The attitude from the Democratic leadership seems clear: taxpayers are viewed as a default funding source, not as hard-working families already stretched to their limit.

Voters should remember this in 2026. Speaker Joe VanDuyne continues to fall in line with the County Executive, and residents of County Board District 1 now have an opportunity to remove her most reliable vote for higher taxes. A shift in that district could dramatically change the direction of county government—and finally provide relief.

It’s time for residents of Will County to stand up and say enough is enough. Families have done their part. Taxpayers have sacrificed. It’s time for local government to live within its means—just like the people it serves.