McHenry Times

Having learned the value of an honest day’s work in childhood, Rachael Lawrence took her work ethic to the next level with the recent disclosure of her candidacy for a spot as Algonquin Township trustee.

Lawrence’s family owned a store, where she helped out after school as a youngster.

"My dad taught me to always read documents before signing,” the local Republican candidate recently said on her Facebook page. “The ‘devil's in the details,’ as they say.”

Lawrence was referring to the fact that she inadvertently discovered a costly administrative mistake on the township’s part in the process of preparing for her candidacy.

Believing she’d been issued the wrong form to fill out for her candidacy statement, she accessed the ISBE website, obtained the proper form, corrected her potential mistake — and then went the extra mile for the sake of her colleagues.

“I even warned others to spread the word about the error to all the other candidates,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence learned and shared that the township had spent upwards of $7,000 to $10,000 on the paper shuffling error because it had triggered challenge hearings for other contenders — including, she said, long-time incumbents.

“Your money was spent because several candidates and multi-term sitting township officers signed and notarized a legal document without even reading it,” she said.

Lawrence’s attention to detail serves her well in her current capacity as a volunteer for Algonquin’s 3rd Precinct.

Raised in Cary and Palatine, she developed a passion for public service, becoming active in the local GOP party and representing the group at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. She lives with her family in unincorporated Algonquin Township.