Three of the five Tazewell County Board candidates running for four open seats in District 1 were asked a question about something that's outside the board's sphere of influence during a forum on Saturday.
It was the first question. And it wasn't unexpected. The subject of the question was the controversial data center that's proposed to be built on 321 acres of the 1,000-acre Lutticken Farm property in Pekin.
"I knew this would be the first question asked," said current board member Nancy Proehl, who was joined at the forum at the Pekin Public Library by current board member Kaden Nelms and challenger Brad Donley.
While several unincorporated areas of the county would be impacted by the data center, the Pekin City Council will decide if the facility will be built because the city owns the land.
All three county board candidates at the forum said they need to do more research on the data center before forming an opinion, but Proehl expressed concerns about the data center's impacts on the environment.
The candidates each said they'd be happy to take constituents' comments about the data center to Pekin officials even though the data center would be in the county's District 2.
Nelms had a suggestion for his constituents.
"Call the Pekin City Council members. Call the Pekin mayor. We [county board members] have no say on the project," he said.
County officials are working on a zoning ordinance that would apply to a data center proposed on county property, an action praised by all three candidates.
"It would be irresponsible to think we [the county] won't be dealing with this someday," Nelms said.
"We need to be prepared for the future," Proehl said.
Proehl, Nelms and Donley are running in the Republican primary for the open District 1 seats on March 17, along with current board member Kim Joesting and challenger Jerald Stewart Jr.
District 1 board member Mark Goddard is not running for reelection.
With no Democrats running for the four seats in March, winning the primary virtually assures a candidate of winning in the Nov. 3 general election.
Saturday's forum was sponsored and presented by the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria and the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce.
The moderator was league president Chris Kaergard.
League officials said Joesting had a long-scheduled family commitment and could not attend the forum, but Stewart failed to respond to several attempts to reach him.
Proehl was appointed to the board in 2011 and first elected in 2012. She said Saturday if she wins this year's race, it will be her final term on the board.
Joesting was first elected in 2016.
Nelms was first elected in 2022. At age 26, he's the youngest member of the board. He said he ran in 2022 to "give young people a voice on the board."
Proehl has worked on a family farm in rural Manito for more than 50 years.
She was the executive director of Manito Area Regional Economic Development from 1989-2000, a former president of the Bradley University Alumni Association, and a member of the Bradley University Board of Trustees from 2000-06.
Nelms, a Pekin resident, ran for Tazewell County auditor in 2000. He's a quality assurance lab technician for Sandbridge Foods in Morton.
Donley is the Delevan Township clerk. The Delavan resident is the longtime owner of Donley Insurance in the city, has been a Boy Scout leader, and is a private pilot.
Joesting and Stewart live in Pekin.
District 1, which is represented by seven board members, includes Pekin, Cincinnati, Spring Lake, Sand Prairie, Malone and Delavan townships.
District 2 and District 3 also have seven board members.
There are three candidates for four open seats in District 2, and four candidates for four open seats in District 3 in the Republican primary election.
District 3 also does not have a candidate for an open two-year seat. Terms are normally four years.
Each candidate in each district is a Republican.
Also at the forum Saturday:
• During a discussion about what issues county residents are most interested in, Proehl said she's frustrated that many residents don't know what the county board can and can't do and seem to be apathetic until a major issue comes up, like the data center.
"Maybe it's because people are busy with their own lives, which isn't a bad thing," she said.
• With six of 21 board members not running for re-election or election this year, the board turnover will be substantial.
Nelms said he'd like to see a mentorship program formed to help new board members with the substantial learning curve they face including the amount of work required.
Proehl said when she first joined the board, she was surprised when she was handed 200 pages to read over the weekend to prepare for a meeting.
• The candidates said they're looking forward to the county's bicentennial celebration next year, but whatever is done, "we can't spend a fortune," Proehl said.
Nelms said he's like to see a bicentennial committee formed that will gather input from the public.
• All three candidates expressed their love for Tazewell County.
"Great wildlife, nature, wonderful smaller medical facilities, and you're 20 minutes away from places with a lot of people," Proehl said.
"Tazewell County is good place for education and to raise your children, with wonderful roads and road crews," Donley said. "You go in a divot when you enter Illinois and come out of the divot when you leave. Not in Tazewell County."
"Wonderful people. Wonderful history," said Nelms, who chairs the county's ad hoc committee for historic preservation.
