Lake County Gazette

Incumbent Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham easily won the Democratic primary over Miguel Rivera last week with 65.23% of the vote, according to media reports. 

In the upcoming April 6 election, however, he will contend with independent Ann Taylor, a Ninth Ward alderman. She alleges Cunningham is becoming unhinged over her candidacy, which she announced last summer.

“At the last city council meeting, he did a nice little rant against me for my brochures because he doesn't like what I'm saying about him but the fact of the matter is they're all newspaper stories,” Taylor told the Lake County Gazette. “He may not want them brought up, but they are out there.”

Taylor’s political brochures include allegations that Cunningham has raised property taxes by 13%, water rates 24%, and the sales tax by a quarter percent over the past three years in order to invest in infrastructure.

“Our infrastructure does need to be invested in and to that degree, I agree with Mayor Cunningham,” Taylor said in an interview. “It's just how we do that. I see it as very different.”

Rather than using bonds to pay for infrastructure, Taylor envisions paying down debt the city of Waukegan owes and then using tax revenues to fund improvements.

“Mayor Cunningham’s idea is tax and spend but he hasn't really done anything to change the budget at all,” Taylor said. “The first thing you have to do when you have too much credit card debt is to pay it down and then you can start using that money for other things.” 

Taylor further alleges that Cunningham has hired more than 20 of his friends, family members and political associates to high-paying jobs in the city of Waukegan.

“It doesn't give our community a fair chance at applying for a position if it's already given out,” Taylor said. “Waukegan is a community that needs jobs and it should go to the people who are most qualified for those positions.”

Cunningham did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taylor has gained the support of two Democratic aldermen and one independent since announcing she would run against Cunningham.

They include Democrats Keith Turner of the Sixth Ward and Lynn Florian of the Eighth Ward and independent Felix Rivera of the Seventh Ward.

“What it says is that people want to do what's best for the city and not necessarily vote along party lines anymore,” Taylor said. “I've seen that when I'm out campaigning that people are not making decisions along party lines anymore.”