Three Republican candidates launched campaigns Tuesday, July 22, for three seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners, the nine-member body that oversees the Deep Tunnel system protecting North Shore basements from flooding.
Timothy Rueckert of unincorporated Glenview, Michelle Pennington of Chicago, and Jill Shestokas round out the Republican slate seeking three countywide seats in the Tuesday, November 3, 2026, general election, according to the Cook County Republican Party. Democratic candidates for the three seats have not been publicly identified.
Why the race matters locally
The MWRD runs the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan — known as the Deep Tunnel — that captures stormwater before it backs up into basements and discharges into waterways. The July 3–4 storms tested the system's limits: the McCook Reservoir hit 100 percent capacity, and the Thornton Reservoir reached 94 percent, a record since it became operational in 2015. Together, the two reservoirs held 11 billion gallons of stormwater during the holiday weekend.
McCook has reached capacity six times in 2026, compared with five times total between 2021 and 2025.
For Wilmette residents east of Ridge Road, the stakes are direct: that neighborhood sits on a combined sewer system. When flows exceed the Deep Tunnel's capacity, untreated water discharges into the North Shore Channel, according to village sewer records. Both Wilmette and Kenilworth are among 37 communities that benefit from McCook Reservoir, which the MWRD estimates provides more than $143 million per year in flood damage reduction.
"Without TARP, those 13 billion gallons of polluted water would have gone directly into the waterways, or worse, backed up into basements of homes and businesses," MWRD spokesperson Allison Fore said in a July statement.
The candidates
Rueckert previously served as Northfield Township highway commissioner, where he worked on flood-control and drainage projects involving the MWRD, including initiatives at Citation Lake, Northbrook West, and the Central Road Drainage District in unincorporated Glenview. He owns a small business with his wife near their home.
Shestokas previously served as the MWRD's public affairs manager, working on policy, legislative affairs, and public education. Her environmental education work received multiple national awards, according to the announcement. She holds a degree in journalism and human ecology from the University of Maryland.
Pennington is managing director of Medill Partners, a real estate holding and development company. She studied economics at DePaul University and has worked with nonprofit organizations supporting Chicago Public Schools.
Ballot challenge
The Republican slate was assembled at a special party meeting on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. The candidates submitted 5,385 petition signatures. An objector challenged a paperwork discrepancy that listed the slating meeting as May 29 rather than April 29; the objector withdrew before a scheduled evidentiary hearing after the party provided affidavits supporting the correct date. The objector's name was not included in the party's statement, and the full objection record has not been independently reviewed.
What's next
Three MWRD commissioners are elected every two years to six-year terms. Countywide early voting is scheduled to begin Monday, October 19. The MWRD Board meets next on Thursday, August 6, at 10:30 a.m. at 100 East Erie Street in Chicago. Meetings are livestreamed at mwrd.legistar.com.
