Incumbent Karen McConnaughay, a Republican from St. Charles, gets our nod to lead the county for another four years. She has overseen the construction of a new jail and animal control facility, both of which were done with an eye toward getting the best bang for the taxpayers' buck. She's moved a pair of critical Fox River bridge projects forward and kept an eye on the looming problem of Kane County's water supply. Democratic opponent Sandy Kaczmarski of Elburn has her heart in the right place but her common sense approach sometimes reveals naiveté about rules governing how money is spent.