It's 'Kathy vs. Cathy' in race for District 29 seat on Sangamon County Board

A former U.S. diplomat will face off with a longtime incumbent Sangamon County Board member Tuesday in a race for the District 29 seat representing part of the west side of Springfield.

Democrat Kathy Johnson, who worked for over 30 years in various diplomatic roles for the federal government, is looking to defeat Republican Cathy Scaife, who is in her second stint on the board. The two candidates bring contrasting backgrounds to the race: Johnson only moved to Springfield in 2019, while Scaife has been in the public spotlight for nearly 25 years since first being elected to the board in 1998.

Despite this, Johnson has found a new home in Springfield and she's more than willing to use the experience she gained working at the federal level to improve the lives of people in District 29. This is her first bid for elected office.

"I believe in ethical and transparent government operations," Johnson said. "I believe in wise use of taxpayer dollars and I've fought for those and other U.S. values my entire career. I think and hope that I can bring that experience and my strong record of serving with integrity to the county board.

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What's changed in the district

Previously, District 29 stretched across portions of the southwest part of Springfield. It included the Panther Creek and Piper Glen neighborhoods, areas along Veterans Parkway such as Parkway Pointe and Westchester, and land along Interstate 72 toward Centennial and Rotary parks.

Redistricting pushed areas closer to Scaife's home in New Berlin into the district and cut out the portions near Chatham, stretching the district closer to Old Jacksonville Road.

Electorally, the new district would have swung hard from Republican to Democrat in 2020, with former President Donald Trump only beating Joe Biden by 17 votes in the district, an 11-point swing from 2016. Former Gov. Bruce Rauner would have won the district by 6% in the 2018 gubernatorial race, but went under 50% of the vote with 10% going to third parties.

Cathy Scaife (Republican, incumbent)

Age: N/A

From: New Berlin

Source of personal income: Works for the Illinois Senate Republicans in Jason Barickman's office; did not disclose income.

Political experience: Has been on the county board for two separate stints, first from 1996 to 2007 and from 2013 to present. Previously represented a district in Jerome before moving out to New Berlin.

On the Issues

A draft of a report, "Heartland HOUSED: Springfield & Sangamon County's Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness," was recently released and was guided by a steering committee that included input from the Sangamon County government. It called for nearly a tripling of available housing for area homeless. Do you support the findings of the draft report or what other initiatives would you implement?

"The County announced a major partnership early this week with Helping Hands to help address the homelessness problem in our community to truly help those in need this type of coordination between all local governments, Non Profits, and community organizations. The report is our best guide to the address this issue, basing the findings on surrounding counties similar to our size and need.

The process to house the homeless is a full commitment of our community. It will be monitored and adjusted as we see fit.

During the process we as a community should be eligible for Federal funding with improved evaluation ratings."

Sangamon County Animal Control has come under scrutiny recently leading to the dismissal of director Greg Largent. Some organizations have suggested removing Animal Control from under the leadership of Public Health. Would you support that initiative or what other improvements would you suggest for Animal Control?

"Our Public Health Department has been professional with the intense COVID-19 crisis. Handling the safety of all humans to maintain their health and well-being. The leadership is strong and the staff have worked long hours through an epidemic without giving up.

Animal Control has been restructured for certain staff duties and procedures. They are moving in a positive direction and committed to serving.

Following the implementation of new policies and procedures, adoptions have increased and euthanasias have drastically decreased."

The new multi-modal transportation center and the upcoming remodeling of the county building are “generational changing” projects in downtown Springfield. What is the county’s role in seeing that these facilities are best utilized and how might the county be good stewards of these projects?

"The transportation center is a technical project that will be a boost for our community. There have been many meetings to discuss this project, not just the architect aspects but also a range from art to history facts which goes along with the facilities and will be displayed. Those included in the meetings are a diverse group of citizens and County Board members that truly care.

The County will be good stewards as they have always been serving our community as fiscal stewards so we can continue to grow local."

Kathy Johnson (Democrat, challenger)

Age: 70

From: Springfield

Source of personal income: Federal pension of $79,000 a year

Political experience: None. This is Johnson's first race.

On The Issues

A draft of a report, "Heartland HOUSED: Springfield & Sangamon County's Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness," was recently released and was guided by a steering committee that included input from the Sangamon County government. It called for nearly a tripling of available housing for area homeless. Do you support the findings of the draft report or what other initiatives would you implement?

"I have not yet read the report.

Obviously, as a board member for Helping Hands (a non-profit providing services for the homeless), I support communities providing help for those experiencing homelessness. In the Springfield area, I would like to see a smaller portion of resources put towards emergency shelter and a greater portion of available resources being put towards getting people in housing, off the streets and providing the supportive services that they need to help them be able to be able to live and exist independently.

That can include things like helping them get appropriate IDs, manage whatever funds they have, getting them mental health services (and) rides so they can get to medical appointments.

I believe that the Springfield community could benefit from a much more holistic approach to helping those experiencing homelessness."

Sangamon County Animal Control has come under scrutiny recently leading to the dismissal of director Greg Largent. Some organizations have suggested removing Animal Control from under the leadership of Public Health. Would you support that initiative or what other improvements would you suggest for Animal Control?

"I have a rescue dog and I am a big proponent of communities helping the animals that wind up on the street, whether it's through abandonment, loss or whatever happened to put them on the street.

I would be in favor of keeping animal control under the county (umbrella). I think that's a good model that works very well around the country, but I believe that there needs to be oversight and transparency. From what I've read, it was difficult for people who wanted to come in to look at operations to gain access to the facility, see how the animals were being cared for and to do drop-in visits.

All of that is critical; if you're running a shelter operation, be ready at any time to let in people who have oversight authority and even community groups. If there are concerns people have, they should be able to come in, talk to someone and take a look. It should not be conducted behind closed doors."

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The new multi-modal transportation center and the upcoming remodeling of the county building are “generational changing” projects in downtown Springfield. What is the county’s role in seeing that these facilities are best utilized and how might the county be good stewards of these projects?

"One thing that we can do is make sure we provide people with access to the facility. When I first looked at the plans, I was checking where parking was and it looked to me like it was at one end of the compound.

If you have people who are in a wheelchair, using a walker, lugging heavy suitcases or have mobility issues, it's important to make sure that wherever the bus drop-offs are or the parking is, people can actually get around and access those facilities.

Sometimes, that's a real issue and that involves working closely with those designed it. Can a wheelchair get up and onto a sidewalk?

I care deeply about infrastructure and things like drainage, making sure there's no place for standing water. I think accessibility is a big issue where the interface of the city and county, it's going to be very important to pay attention to that."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sangamon County Board District 29 race: Kathy Johnson vs. Cathy Scaife