Former Karen May Opponent Vies For Lake County Board Seat

 will run as a Republican candidate for the Lake County Board representing District 12.

The newly drawn 12th District includes portions of Lake Forest, Knollwood, Deerfield, Del Mar Woods and Highland Park.

Turelli follows the announcements of former  and former .

Turelli said in a press release that her candidiacy came in response to overwhelming encouragement from community and Republican Party leaders.

Turelli cited her strong support from Republican Party leaders based upon her recent showing  against .

West Deerfield GOP Chairman Mark Shaw commented that, “Lauren ran an extremely impressive, issue-oriented campaign against a long-time, incumbent in a strongly Democratic district and did very well. In fact, Lauren captured more than 55 percent of the votes in the precincts which make up this new district.”

Additionally, Shaw noted that, “with only 52 percent of the district being within Lake Forest’s boundaries, it will require a special Republican candidate to successfully unseat the long-time Democratic incumbent from Deerfield. Given her position as Lake County’s Republican chairwoman, as well as her award for generating the highest turnout in her precinct in the 2010 Republican primary election, Lauren is our best candidate to undertake this mission.”

Turelli said heavy tax burdens and a sluggish economy are challenging district residents.

"County property taxes make up a very high percentage of the total tax bill paid by district residents," she said in the release. "In particular, district residents pay more than twice the average amount of taxes as residents in other districts, and receive very little services in return. Any person seeking to effectively represent the residents of this district on the county board must begin asking hard questions about discretionary expenditures which impose substantial, additional financial burdens upon our already overtaxed residents.”

Currently, Turelli serves on the  as a board member for A Safe Place, which helps find transitional homes for victims of domestic violence, and as the chairman of Lake Forest Caucus’ Second Ward organization.

Turelli and her husband, Ken, have three sons.