Lake County Gazette

Dawn Abernathy wants voters to know there’s no one else quite like her on the Mundelein Village Board -- and no one more like them.

While she and fellow board member Dakotah Norton recently joined forces as the only trustees voting against a property tax increase, it’s Abernathy who has long carried the torch of adamantly rejecting all such proposals.

“I’m very much against any property tax increase, and I’m convinced we can cut from other areas without affecting services,” she told the Lake County Gazette. “I will be a lot more vocal about that going forward.”

That’s all contingent on things going the way Abernathy would have them go on April 4, when voters decide among six candidates for three seats on the village board. She and Ray Semple are the only incumbents.

Between now and then, Abernathy is also hoping voters get a view of the new and emerging Mundelein downtown area, a redevelopment project she has been instrumental in helping to get off the ground.

“The heart of our downtown area will help facilitate everything else for us in this community,” she said. “We’re envisioning it being the attraction that brings more people into Mundelein.”

But first, there’s the matter of addressing the concerns of those who already call the village home.

Throughout her campaign, Abernathy has made the ongoing state budget crisis an issue, stressing that she is doing all she can to make sure Mundelein gets all the revenue it is owed and so desperately needs from Springfield, which has operated without a balanced budget for nearly two years.

In the meantime, her focus remains on making sure residents are able to keep more of their money and not have to deal with even higher tax bills.

She offered other options in her most recent battle, in which the board ultimately voted to increase the total it collects in property taxes next year to nearly $12.6 million from $11.8 million. She suggested cutting purchases and personnel costs.

In seeking her second, four-year-term, Abernathy also has crusaded against House Bill 40, an abortion funding bill currently being considered.

“HB 40 needs to be stopped,” she recently posted on Facebook. “This would allow for taxpayer-funded abortion at every stage, even late-term abortions. Let your representative know you are against this bill."

While she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the state House of Representatives for the 59th District in 2016 and has expressed a possible interest in again entering the race, Abernathy is assuring her constituents that such a run would have no bearing on how hard she works for them as a trustee.

“My entire focus is on Mundelein,” she said. “It is my absolute first priority and biggest commitment.”

Also running for trustee are Semple, former Trustee Robin Meier, plan commission member Scott Black, and political newcomers Karthik Chandramouli and Jeanne Cygnus.