Tazewell County, Illinois, was formed in 1827. As of the 2010 census, Tazewell County has a population of 135,394, 15th largest in the State of Illinois.
Tazewell County is currently divided into three county political districts:
District One
District Two
District Three
In 2008, John was elected to the Tazewell County Board as a District Three Board Member. John received the highest amount of votes in both the Republican Primary and General Election, both of which had the highest voter participation in the past decade. His totals showed strong support throughout the district and also among not only Republicans but Independents and Democrats too.
The 2008 campaign’s message was John’s commitment to: A) be an advocate for Tazewell County Farmers and Outdoorsmen, B) be an advocate for Conservative beliefs and values, and C) be a supporter of contiguous, planned community growth.
Politically to date, John has managed or actively participated in ten political campaigns, including four in which he was the candidate, and has lost only once. John has a reputation for in-depth research of issues before he votes and for strong customer service to his constituents. The Peoria Journal Star said of John "...Ackerman is knowledgeable about county issues and full of ideas..."
The Bloomington Pantagraph said“Give Tazewell County Board member John C. Ackerman a "sunbeam" award for his role in improving access to public information for his constituents.” They went on to say, “Normally, we wouldn't promote a single board member's site…But it contains useful information - information that should be, but isn't, on the official government site…we commend Ackerman for filling in the gap and for following through with his campaign pledge to improve communication and access to information.”
John is currently serving on the County’s Transportation and Property Committee.
Tazewell County’s District Three is not only the largest district in Tazewell County in population but also has a population larger than seventy percent of the counties in Illinois. Inside its borders are the Cities of East Peoria and Washington and the Villages of Deer Creek, Mackinaw, Minier and Armington.
In 2008, John was elected to the Tazewell County Board as a District Three Board Member. John received the highest amount of votes in both the Republican Primary and General Election, both of which had the highest voter participation in the past decade. His totals showed strong support throughout the district and also among not only Republicans but Independents and Democrats too.
The 2008 campaign’s message was John’s commitment to: A) be an advocate for Tazewell County Farmers and Outdoorsmen, B) be an advocate for Conservative beliefs and values, and C) be a supporter of contiguous, planned community growth.
Community Links
• Deer Creek
• East Peoria
• Washington
• Mackinaw
• Minier
• East Peoria Chamber
• Washington Chamber
Media Links•
Adventure Sports Outdoors
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Illinois Review
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Washington & Morton Courier
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Washington Times Reporter
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East Peoria Times Courier
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Peoria Journal Star
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Pekin Daily Times
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WMBD 1470 AM
Tonight’s meeting was long and had a few surprises. It started under Public Comments with Mike Lewis of IDOT making a presentation to the County Board concerning the possible Eastern Bypass corridors. In the coming months the Tazewell County Board will be formulating its position on this potential catalyst for further economic development in Northern Tazewell County. I delivered my Update Position on this subject to IDOT at the meeting. I have posted it on my website for your review along with the maps of the six remaining possible corridors.
Also under Public Comments the board heard the concerns of Wayne Sutherland from Tremont about the County Board Pension Plan. I believe that while his concern is sincere, the information he referenced is not correct. Just to make it clear for my voters, I am not currently on the Tazewell County Pension plan but do not see the need for it to be removed. No Tazewell County Board Member is going to retire with a bundle of money from his service on the Tazewell County Board.
Vicki Clark also made a presentation to the County Board.
On the Consent Agenda, Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 14 and 24 were pulled. All but 11 was pulled only for procedural purposes and passed with no objections. Item 11 was pulled by Member Vanderheydt who followed by making a motion to table it. Members Antonini, Meisinger, Palmer and VonBoeckman joined him in voting to table, but the motion failed. I did not see the need to table as we have been discussing this item for months and need to make a decision and move forward. On the vote to item itself, Member Vanderheydt was the only member to vote against this item.
As we get closer to the holidays, these Monthly County Board Meetings should get shorter. Tonight was a great example. Items 1, 9, 12, 13, 14 & 15 were pulled from the Consent Agenda. Item 1, 12, 13 & 14 passed with no objections. Item 9 was pulled by Member Crawford who had question concerning the mileage of the Regional Office of Education. After his questions were answered, the issue passed with no objections.
Item 15 was the only issue that had any objections. This involved the appointment by Chairman David Zimmerman of Carl Powell to the position of Tazewell County Coroner. This issue has been delayed and stretched out over the past few months. Some members wanted to table this issue rather than voting on it tonight. Their questions centered on the fact that Carl Powell was going to be campaigning for this office in the March Primary Election and they did not want this appointment to be used as a message of support for his campaign.
As Member Stanford and then I reminded the County Board Members, it is not our job to appoint or even debate the appointment of an individual. It is the County Board Chairman’s job to appoint the individual he feels is best for the position that is open. After he makes his choice, the County Board Members then vote whether or not that individual is qualified.
Over the past few years, I have not agreed with a few of Chairman Zimmerman’s appointments, but in the end the decision is his.
In this case, I never heard any County Board Member ever say that either of these candidates where not qualified. With that then, once Chairman Zimmerman made his decision to appoint Carl Powell, the County Board Members decision should have been an easy vote yes.
Member Crawford brought forward a motion to table, which failed by a vote of 9 to table and 10 against it. County Board Members Jim Donahue, Dean Grimm, Terry Hillegonds, Nancy Proehl, Greg Sinn, Melvin Stanford, Sue Sundell, Jerry Vanderheydt and Terry Von Boeckman joined me in successfully voting against the motion to table. After the motion to table failed, the issue passed with no objections.