CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Champaign County Board Chair Samantha Carter announced that she will not seek re-election as Champaign County Board Chair. The 22-member county board is set to meet on December 2 for its biennial organizational session, where new leadership decisions will be made and newly elected members sworn in.
Carter, who will remain on the board, voiced her frustration with County Executive Steve Summers and some of her fellow board Democrats, and criticizing the lack of tolerance for differing opinions in her leadership role.
Carter is expected to be succeeded by Vice Chair Jennifer Locke, a lawyer who has lived in the area since 2018. Locke is seen as a better fit for the position, according to Carter. Recent conflicts included abolishing the elected auditor’s office and the passage of a quarter-cent sales tax increase, both of which were rejected by voters in the November 5 election.