Springfield resident Marc Ayers isn’t ruling out running for Ward 7 alderperson or mayor in April 2027, or maybe another elected office someday.
But the 40-year-old Springfield native has decided to leave the Sangamon County Board seat he has held since 2022.
“No one was forcing me out,” Ayers, the board’s District 12 representative, told Illinois Times after he notified county officials April 3 of his intention to resign his seat in the coming days. “I did what I needed to do to fix the things I wanted to fix.”
In a statement posted on social media, Ayers said he planned to make his resignation effective at the conclusion of the April 7 County Board meeting so that he could “proudly cast my ‘no’ vote against a data center that threatens the health, safety and welfare of county residents.”
Ayers, a Democrat representing parts of the city’s west side, parts of Leland Grove and all of Jerome, defeated Republican incumbent Linda Fulgenzi for a two-year term in November 2022 and won a second term – lasting four years – in 2024 against Republican challenger Colleen Lucas Cavanagh.
County Board members serve alternating two- and four-year terms. They are paid $10,734 per year.
Ayers is Illinois director of Humane World for America, formerly the Humane Society of the United States.
Ayers, who is married, said he is resigning because accomplishing his major goals as a County Board member coincides with his desire to direct more attention to his job and to what he described as consulting opportunities.
A replacement for the remainder of his term will be named by the Sangamon County Democratic Party. Ayers said he hasn’t endorsed anyone to fill his spot on the GOP-controlled County Board yet.
Ayers said he was gratified by his efforts to push for improvements at the Sangamon County Animal Control Center, bring more transparency to County Board operations and expand the number of solar power projects in the county.
Along the way, he took part in calls for more accountability for the sheriff’s office in the wake of the 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey. He supported a successful voter initiative that will create a county mental health board and expand funding for mental health services.
Ayers said he wants to see more Democrats, and more Democrats who are “progressive,” elected to the County Board. Democrats currently hold eight of the 29 board seats, while Republicans hold the other 21.
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