Journal & Topics Media Group

Elk Grove Village Board Campaigning Starts

Mortensen Considers Another Run But Declines; Unexpected Volunteers Come Out For Johnson


First campaign organizing event for incumbent Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson (center) in a banquet room at the Rose Garden restaurant in Elk Grove Village Oct. 3. (Photo submitted)

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson held his first campaign organizing event in a banquet room at the Rose Garden restaurant Oct. 3, in which about 40 volunteers picked up packets to collect petition signatures for Johnson’s sixth run for mayor.

So far, incumbent village trustees Pat Feichter, Chris Prochno and Jeff Franke all announced they would be running for reelection in the April 6, 2021 election, but no others appear to be mounting a run yet. Another challenger to Johnson or to incumbent trustees is widely expected.

Julee Mortensen, who ran and lost in the 2019 village trustee race, said in a social media post this weekend, she was circulating petitions for another run for village trustee. But, Mortensen said Tuesday, although she did prepare petitions to gather signatures for a run for trustee, she changed her mind since and will not be running. She said her husband is retired and she is enjoying peaceful times with him.

In July 2019, Johnson first faced a concerted and well-financed retroactive term limits effort, which, if successful, would have barred him and other incumbent trustees from holding office for another term.

In August of that year, a series of robocalls and campaign-style mailers, much containing false or misleading information and targeting Johnson, village programs he championed such as sponsorship of the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl and the Elk Grove Village Cares addiction treatment program, and his political ally and campaign advisor Kitty Vanderweel Weiner. Weiner has been a professional political advisor working for Johnson and other candidates at the local and state levels for years. She was also an aide to former U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-6th).  

The efforts which began in July and August 2019 and continued as recently as mailers sent in late August of this year, followed the April 2019 election which saw four challengers to two incumbents battle for three open village trustee seats.

Those challengers were Mortensen, Scott Saxe, former Elk Grove Village Police Chief Steve Schmidt, along with an organized effort by Laborers Local 6 union President Jeff Ziemann. The incumbents retained their seats with Schmidt joining them on the board.

Johnson said negative campaigning efforts over the last year and a half appear to have backfired. In 28 years in public office, Johnson said he has never had this kind of groundswell of volunteers actively reaching out to help him run. He believes many were spurred to volunteer after negatively reacting to what some saw as “outsiders” coming to meddle and take over the village government. 

Johnson said petition packets given to volunteers included signature sheets, masks, gloves, and 20 pens each, enough for every petition signer to keep the pen they are given by the petition circulator in the name of COVID-19 safety.

“Usually, it’s the trustees and a few other people, we go out and just get it (collecting signatures) done,” Johnson said of Saturday’s event, “Organizing volunteers, it was lots of fun.” 

Johnson said he expects more candidates for either mayor or village trustee, likely funded by whoever was funding the robocalls and mailers, to mount a run at the last minute.

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