\u201cWhat we need now more than ever \u2026 are individuals that are dedicated to being public servants,\u201d Howard said. \u201cI don\u2019t represent any special interest groups. What I want to do is actually represent the taxpayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ogalla and Pretzel said they are running on their record opposing tax increases.<\/p>\n
Ogalla, a board member since 2012, said the county\u2019s budget is rapidly increasing and it is not sustainable. Property taxes are too high and remain a top concern among residents, she said. The county needs to see where it can reduce spending across all departments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t keep spending and spending and spending,\u201d Ogalla said.<\/p>\n
Ogalla said she has been the County Board\u2019s chair, minority whip, forest preserve district president and helps mentor new members. She said she has been a strong opponent of the proposed airport in Peotone, is the voice of rural Will County and has worked to ensure the forest district enacts conservation practices on its agricultural land.<\/p>\n
Pretzel said he will work to ensure the sheriff\u2019s office has the funds and tools it needs to address crime, saying there has been an increase in smash-and-grab burglaries targeting video gaming cafes. Government should be trying to figure out how it can give money back to taxpayers, Pretzel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like my job is to stop the bleeding,\u201d said Pretzel, a board member since 2020. \u201cThat is what people elected me to do. I will not vote for an increase in the levy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Judy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STA-L-will-district-2-race-01.jpg\")
Republican Judy Ogalla, of Monee (Candidate photo)
\n![\"Frankie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STA-L-will-district-2-race-02.jpg\")
Republican Frankie Pretzel, of New Lenox (Candidate photo)
\n![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DST-L-will-board-candidates-2026-04.jpeg\")
Democrat Bob Howard, of Beecher (Candidate photo)
\nProperty taxes<\/p>\n
Ogalla, 65, said the Republican caucus in July asked for a 2% reduction<\/a> in the property tax levy, a month before County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant proposed no increase<\/a> in the property tax levy during her State of the County address.<\/p>\n Before the budget is approved this November, the County Board should continue to look for reductions, Ogalla said.<\/p>\n Pretzel, 47, said all 11 Republicans and one Democrat worked together so there was no property tax increases for the fiscal year 2026 budget approved last November.<\/p>\n \u201cI remain a consistent voice of opposition of any tax increases,\u201d Pretzel said. \u201cLast year we were successful in keeping the levy at zero. I think we\u2019re going to do it again this year. I think I\u2019m a big part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Howard, 65, said there are always challenges to address. Government is a service provider and funds have to be allocated for health, public safety, senior citizens and transportation. The jail system should work toward ensuring inmates can become productive members of society. Transportation initiatives should help senior citizens and those with disabilities get to their medical appointments, classes, jobs or run errands, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to have responsible budgets which actually take the taxpayers\u2019 interest and taxpayers\u2019 needs first and foremost,\u201d Howard said. \u201cThe other part of it is we need a compassionate budget that helps those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n Howard said he would like to see cannabis revenue, a fund the County Board allocates, used to help alleviate the burden on taxpayers.<\/p>\n Pretzel said he would like cannabis revenue allocated toward public safety initiatives and helping fund police, the state\u2019s attorney\u2019s office, public defender\u2019s office or correctional facility.<\/p>\n Ogalla said she agrees cannabis revenue should benefit court-appointed special advocates for children, the Children\u2019s\u2019 Advocacy Center or probation courts because they always have a need for extra revenue. She said she would like additional cannabis funds to help support agricultural initiatives such as an agricultural preservation fund or studies for alternative plans for the Peotone airport property.<\/p>\n Solar farms<\/p>\n Ogalla said the solar energy facilities are not an agricultural use. Green Garden Township is losing 25% of its agricultural land due to solar development, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are not farming anything,\u201d she said of the solar facilities.<\/p>\n Both Ogalla and Pretzel voted against two massive solar projects earlier this year, including the Pride of the Prairie<\/a> project at 6,100 acres and Plum Valley at 2,400 acres. Ogalla and Pretzel were also among three County Board members to vote against a Will County judge\u2019s order<\/a> to approve all previously rejected solar projects to comply with state law.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disgusting that we have the state legislature and governor telling us we have to rubber stamp them,\u201d Pretzel said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that we shouldn\u2019t have solar in Will County. I think everybody agrees there are places for it. But when you give a blanket statement that says any solar project that wants to go through gets to go through, that\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n The board passed about 90% of solar applications that it receives, and projects should be judged on their merits, said Pretzel, the chair of the Land Use and Development Committee.<\/p>\n Howard said he lives in a rural area and farmers struggle with high costs of fuel and fertilizer and high property taxes. Planting isn\u2019t as profitable as it once was, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a solar farm approaches them and says I\u2019m going to provide you with an alternative form of income where I\u2019m going to go for a 10-year lease or 20 or 30 (years), and you are still going to own the property at the end of it, I think the farmer should have that option,\u201d Howard said. \u201cA property owner has rights.\u201d<\/p>\n Solar facilities don\u2019t increase traffic or add children in the school districts, Howard said, noting some people would prefer them over large warehouse developments.<\/p>\n Data centers<\/p>\n Data centers need to be studied in greater detail, Howard, a carpenter, said. If they are built, he said the data centers need to address concerns about water, electric, lighting and noise, and it shouldn\u2019t affect nearby homeowners.<\/p>\n Pretzel, a franchise business owner, said data centers and modular nuclear facilities are likely up-and-coming issues. Both he and Ogalla support putting a moratorium on data centers until the board addresses regulations.<\/p>\n Ogalla, a retired information technology specialist, said she has been requesting a moratorium on data centers for more than six months, but the proposal hasn\u2019t been put on an agenda.<\/p>\n Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Will County\u2019s District 2, incumbent Republicans Judy Ogalla, of Monee, and Frankie Pretzel, of New Lenox, are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[135955,3220,416,135954,135953,75,84,83,9,24,40757,63,7056,135958,7754,6270,135956,135957],"class_list":["post-367859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-bob-howard","tag-data-center","tag-elections","tag-frankie-pretzel","tag-judy-ogalla","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-lenox","tag-nyc","tag-peotone","tag-pride-of-the-prairie-solar-farm","tag-property-taxes","tag-solar-farms","tag-will-county-board","tag-will-county-district-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}