Bentley Landess continues family tradition of public service in the village
By Ben Cox
Village of South Jacksonville residents elected a new village clerk during the April consolidated elections. Bentley Landess ran unopposed for the seat.
The village has had a tough time keeping the position filled for a full term since Megan Moore’s term came to an end in 2021. Amy Scoggins resigned from the position in November 2021 after a few months in the position. Krystin Hill won the seat unopposed at the 2021 consolidated election but resigned just a few months into her term. Rebekah Pentecost won a two-year unexpired term at the 2023 consolidated election but also resigned just a few months into the term.
In between resignations, Village President Dick Samples, an office intern, and current Village Treasurer and Office Manager Mindy Olson have been fulfilling the duties of the position.
Landess, the daughter of Ed and Paula (village trustee) Stewart, says that through
discussions with her mother, she felt the need to get involved with local government.
Landess began her career in public service much like her mother and brothers Braxton and Brody — in education. She started as an elementary teacher at Crossroads Learning Center after graduating from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Landess returned to the university after a few years to achieve a master’s degree in school social work. After graduating with her master’s degree, she returned to Jacksonville as a social worker first at Garrison School and is now currently with Jacksonville School District 117 at South Elementary and Murrayville-Woodson Elementary.
“My husband’s [Mason Landess] a police officer for the South Jacksonville Police Department. My mother’s on the board,” Landess said. “I realized I didn’t know as much about it as I want to. We are residents. We live in South Jacksonville and I’ve grown up here. I’ve been here my whole life except for when I went to college. I realized it’s good to be involved in your community.”
Landess hopes her youth and her perspective can be a breath of fresh air for new ideas in the village government. “My mom had brought up the position and I see it as a way to help out the community,” Landess says, “I think that I can bring some consistency and help out there.”
Landess says politics put her off at first due to the drama and problems it sometimes courts, but she says the balance lies in staying informed about things in the community and helping others, “I want to be a part of the solution if I know that I can. I know the village clerk can only do so much but I want to at least be here and hear the conversations that are being held. That’s something I’ve never really gotten into but now I want to.”
Landess says she and her husband and two sons have set down their roots in the village and she wants the future of the village to prosper. Landess hopes to bring her experience in social work and education to have both the good and the tough conversations with village residents when the time calls for it.
Landess says she’s thankful for her family being close to help balance child care and work so she can also fulfill the obligations of being an elected official: “Luckily, I have a village myself that my sons love. We’re very lucky to have great in-laws. My dad and brothers, minus one who is in Chicago, all still live in this community. We’ve found a good balance with my husband being a police officer. Those schedules are crazy. I tend to enjoy being busy. I see my mom. She’s always been involved in things and always made it work. She was always present and I want to be that same example to my kids.”
Landess will officially be sworn in at the village’s business meeting on May 1.
