Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County Board member Lynn LaPlante ended her candidacy for DuPage County Board chair.  

“Lynn LaPlante has ended her campaign for #DuPage County board chair, leaving one other Democrat in the race: state Rep. Deb Conroy. With #Illinois legislators in Springfield this week, Conroy says she plans to file nominating petitions March 14 #twill," Katlyn Smith, a reporter for the Daily Herald, noted on Twitter.

LaPlante, whose day job is as a violist with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, left her race just prior to the qualifying deadline of March 14. Her departure means that Conroy won't face a party challenge for the position, the Daily Herald reported.

Conroy’s stock slid after she proposed a controversial bill in the Illinois General Assembly that would allow the local public health departments to “adopt any rules necessary” to combat COVID, including detaining the unvaccinated, the DuPage Policy Journal previously reported. 

Conroy’s bill has been called an “excuse to expand the totalitarianism that is now a core concept of the Modern Democratic Party," Chicago City Wire reported in February. She reportedly received death threats in the wake of the legislation’s filing.

Over 21,000 opponents have filed witness slips against the bill, as opposed to only 188 in favor, according to public data on the General Assembly website. 

After LaPlante’s departure, the June 28 primary will feature Conroy and Republicans Greg Hart and Pete DiCianni. The race is the only one competing countywide.