Democrats hold slim leads in four of five contested Kane County races, including the County Board chairman race, with an unknown number of mail-in votes left to count.
Tuesday’s tally included early votes, votes from Election Day and more than 80,000 mail-in votes, according to John Cunningham, Kane County clerk.
But Cunningham said more than 90,000 vote-by-mail ballots were sent out, which means as many as 10,000 could still come back. They have to be postmarked by Nov. 3, and in the clerk’s office within 14 days.
Cunningham said it is “unlikely” all 10,000 would come back, but some will.
“The results will change,” he said.
The difference in the race between Democrat Connie Pierog and Republican David Rickert is razor thin. Pierog finished the night with 48.62% of the vote reported Tuesday compared to Rickert’s 47.94%.
Rickert, 54, of Elgin, has been the Kane County treasurer for 20 years. Pierog, 69, of Batavia, is a veteran of several campaigns and is a former university professor and college administrator, who also worked on community economic development and nonprofit management. Both pointed to the long-term effect of the coronavirus pandemic as the key issue countywide.
Rickert said the budget was a top concern, and also pointed to protecting natural resources and making sure there was enough funding for law enforcement personnel. Pierog talked about addressing water issues and making sure there is racial parity on every county level. She also talked about hiring a county manager, and having the board chairman deal primarily with policy.
In the circuit clerk race, Democrat Theresa Barreiro has 49.27% of the vote to Republican incumbent Thomas Hartwell’s 46.65% in the unofficial numbers.
Barreiro, 58, of Aurora, who has been a member of the Kane County Board since 2012, said the key issues include problems with the pandemic and people wanting to see change. She said her goals included conducting a customer and staff survey to improve service, help with expungement to clear people’s records, and to provide more technological training for staff and judicial partners.
Hartwell, 60, of Elgin, said the most pressing issues are the pandemic and its many ramifications and maintaining financial stability. He praised the work to keep his employees and the public safe. He said keeping things under budget over time has saved the county $7.5 million.
In the race for auditor, Democrat Penny Wegman has 50.67% of the vote to incumbent Republican Terry Hunt’s 45.09% as of the unofficial numbers reported Tuesday.
Wegman, 43, of Elgin, is a former library trustee and president of the Kane County Regional School Board and is currently the Kane County Board member for District 20. She said key issues include the pandemic and the county budget. She said she would reduce the auditor’s office budget by 12%.
Hunt, 68, of Big Rock, has been auditor since 2012. He said concerns include the pandemic and its impact, and concerns about taxes. If reelected, Hunt said he wanted to continue to increase financial transparency as well as audit each operation in an objective and fair way.
In the state’s attorney’s race, Democrat Jamie Mosser finished Tuesday with a 49.33% to 46.49% lead over Republican Robert Spence in the unofficial numbers.
Spence, of Batavia, spent 20 years as a prosecutor, became a Kane County judge and eventually served as the chief judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court. He then moved on to work as a justice with the 2nd District Appellate Court. Mosser, of North Aurora, served as an assistant Kane County state’s attorney for 10 years before she moved to a private law practice where she has focused on domestic violence cases and family law.
Republican incumbent Sandy Wegman finished Tuesday leading Democratic challenger Brenda Rodgers 49.22% to 46.09% in the race for county recorder according to the unofficial numbers reported Tuesday.
Wegman, 76, of Elgin, was seeking her sixth consecutive term as county recorder.
The COVID-19 crisis, she said, has impacted the building where the recorder’s office is located but not services itself. She said her goals are to continue the same level of service, work with banks, attorneys and others to implement a new state-mandated system to record documents, and stay within the budget.
Rodgers, 56, of Elgin, a former Elgin City Council member, said she ran to provide pandemic restoration after the COVID-19 crisis is over and empower people with knowledge to help them save their homes. She wanted to reopen the recorder’s office, which is currently closed.
slord@tribpub.com
