Former Lake Forest Mayor Mike Rummel will run unopposed for the Lake County Board’s District 12 seat i the November general election after no opponent filed by Monday’s deadline.

Contacted Tuesday, Rummel said he thought the cut-off was Tuesday in line with the recall election in Wisconsin; regardless, he said the news would not alter his campaign plans going forward.

“I didn’t intend to change what I was going to do with or without an opponent,” Rummel said.

Rummel earned the Republican nod after easily defeating fellow Lake Forest resident Scott Helton , 60 percent to 40 percent, in the March primary.

The lack of an opponent in the November election may mean a shift more toward educating voters in the next few months versus comparing candidate records.

“I’m going to start going to board meetings, which I intended to do anyway, and bring as many issues to the people and seek their feedback,” Rummel said.

Rummel noted that the primary campaign was a good lesson in learning the ins and outs of county government as much for him as for the voters he met.

“Most people don’t understand what Lake County government does, what people are paying for,” Rummel said.

Rummel said part of that has to do with the area District 12 represents: Lake Forest, Knollwood and small parts of Highland Park and Deerfield.

“We don’t have any county roads and we don’t deal with the sheriff very much,” he said.

During a town hall meeting in Knollwood, road conditions were brought up as a subject of neglect by the county. Rummel found out Shields Township has a direct impact on road conditions, not the Lake County Board. However, the board can assist unincorporated areas like Knollwood with grants and other fundraising options.

District 13 Race

The Lake County District 13 race remains intact with Republican David Barkhausen facing Democrat Sandy Hart in November.

Barkhausen, the Shields Township clerk and a former Lake Bluff village trustee, defeated fellow former Lake Bluff Trustee Rick Lesser by 120 votes. Hart, who is vice president of the Lake Bluff Park District board, beat Anthony and Robert Glueckert by a wide margin.

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