2012 Election: Who Will Represent You on the County Board?

Former village trustee Laurie Smith, who has represented New Lenox on the county board since 2008, will serve through September and then move to Florida, she said Wednesday.

Smith will step down and someone will be appointed to fill her spot until all 27 board members are up for re-election in 2012. With newly drawn district boundaries, New Lenox could now lose one local representative.

Smith, a Republican from New Lenox, is chairwoman of the Will County Board's technology committee, and she's also a member of the county's Forest Preserve Board.

She was unavailable for further comment Wednesday and didn't return subsequent phone calls.

Before being elected to the county board, Smith was an administrator for the county executive and a communication specialist for the Will County Sheriff. She was also a New Lenox Village Board trustee for six years and Planning & Zoning board member for two years.

Currently, New Lenox is in a district with Mokena and Frankfort that's represented by three people: Smith, board chairman Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort) and Tom Weigel (R-New Lenox).

In the newly drawn boundaries, the number of districts increases from nine to 13, with each district dropping to only two representatives. Because , that would have left Smith and Weigel to run for re-election for the two available district spots.

Now that Smith is stepping down, one spot will be up for grabs. New Lenox shares its new district with Mokena and a small part of Orland Park, so someone from those villages could challenge for the county seat next to Weigel, if he's re-elected.