Voters in Chicago’s suburbs went to the polls in Tuesday’s election to decide primary races from governor to Cook County board.
Voters in Illinois’ race for governor this fall will have a justifiable case of deja vu as Darren Bailey, the Republican Party’s unsuccessful 2022 nominee, won his party’s primary and will now face off once again against two-term Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.
In the race for U.S. Senate, two-term Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Chicago defeated a pair of experienced members of Congress in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat long held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. The Associated Press called the race for Stratton just before 9:40 p.m., a short time after five-term U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and seven-term Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood conceded. Stratton will face former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy of Springfield in November.
In the U.S. House, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss won the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the 9th Congressional District, delivering a loss to both the big-money interests that spent millions to elect one of his opponents and an insurgent, unconventional campaign from another.
And U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Highland Park, claimed victory in the 10th Congressional District Democratic primary over Morgan Coghill Tuesday and is making plans to face Republican Carl Lambrecht of Highland Park in the Nov. 3 general election. Lambrecht was unopposed in the GOP primary.
In the Illinois Senate, state Sen. Emil Jones III said he was “humbly grateful” to voters as unofficial results showed him easily leading two challengers in the 14th Senate District. Jones faced a contested primary for the first time in his 17-year Senate career from both Ahmed Karrar and Kenny Williams.
Voters from Winnetka to Evanston to Skokie and Northbrook watched the race for their state senator come down to razor-thin margins on election night, but Evanston-born Patrick Hanley eventually declared victory over Rachel Ruttenberg in the Democratic primary, per unofficial results.
And Maria Peterson says she knocked on 8,000 doors in her effort to win the Democratic nomination in the 52nd Illinois State House District and the opportunity to face state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, a Republican from Barrington Hills, in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which he won by 47 votes.
Here’s what else happened in races around Chicago’s suburbs.
Cook County
Fritz Kaegi conceded defeat in his bid for a third term as Cook County assessor to rival Pat Hynes in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Kaegi, a self-described reformer who largely self-funded his campaign, trailed 47.5% to Hynes’ 52.5% with 88% of the estimated votes counted, a rare upset of a countywide incumbent.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, meanwhile, declared victory against challenger Brendan Reilly in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, with the downtown alderman conceding defeat roughly 90 minutes after polls closed.
The contested races for the 17-member Cook County Board ended with two established incumbents toppled, three recent appointees surviving outside challenges, and several familiar political names edging out competitors.
Also, appointed Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill declared victory Tuesday night in her bid for a full term, apparently fending off a challenge from Dolton Trustee Kiana Belcher in the Democratic primary for the 5th District Cook County Board seat.
In the 6th District, a field of five Democratic contenders seeking to replace Commissioner Donna Miller appeared to narrow to Worth Township Supervisor Patricia Joan “Trish” Murphy and Palestinian-American attorney Wesam Shahed, according to preliminary results Tuesday night.
Deerfield
Deerfield Public Schools District 109’s referendum for nearly $87.8 million to build two new schools, and update and renovate another four, has passed, according to unofficial election results, with nearly 3,560 — about 63% — of district voters supporting the proposal.
DuPage County
Incumbent Sadia Covert appears to have lost her bid to retain her District 5 seat on the DuPage County Board. With 100% of the unofficial votes tallied, Covert was more than 2,500 behind fellow Democrat Ian Holzhauer, a Naperville City Council member. Marylee Leu placed third in the Democratic primary race.
Incumbent DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek appears to have lost her reelection bid in a primary loss to fellow Democrat Paula Deacon Garcia.
Sadia Covert, a Naperville Democrat who has represented County Board District 5 since 2018, was ousted by Naperville City Councilman Ian Holzhouer by a margin of more than 2,500 votes, unofficial vote counts show.
In the primary race for DuPage County sheriff, Sean T. Noonan appears the definitive Republican winner Tuesday and now heads to the November general election to face Democrat Peter Joseph Coolidge. The pair will face off to succeed Sheriff James Mendrick, who opted not to seek reelection to launch what turned out Tuesday to be an unsuccessful bid in the Republican primary for governor.
Geneva
Geneva voters appear to have shot down the city’s ask to issue $59.4 million in bonds to pay for a new police station. With all precincts in Kane County reporting, unofficial results showed 34.38% of voters in favor of and 65.62% of voters against the city’s pitch as of around 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to data from the Kane County Clerk’s Office.
Glencoe
A $20 million renovation of the Glencoe Public Library appears poised to move forward after voters in the March 17 election approved, in unofficial results, an advisory referendum supporting a bond sale.
Kane County
Kane County voters on Tuesday weighed in on their preferred party’s nominees in several countywide races during the primary election.
Unofficial results show current Undersheriff Amy Johnson advancing as the Democratic nominee for Kane County’s sheriff, defeating opponent Salvador Rodriguez. Former county Coroner Rob Russell came out on top as the Republican nominee, defeating Luis Santoyo, according to the unofficial results.
As for the other contested countywide races, Penny Wegman, the county’s current auditor, appears to have come out on top for the Democratic nomination for Kane County’s treasurer. Three candidates — Wegman, Connie Cain and Scott Johansen — were vying for the nomination in hopes of facing off against Republican incumbent Chris Lauzen in the November general election.
The county clerk’s office also saw a competitive primary, with two candidates — Brian Pollock and Brenda Rodgers — vying for the Democratic nomination. Rodgers ultimately secured 55.41% of the Democratic vote, Clerk’s Office numbers show, with Pollock garnering 44.59%.
Lake County
The unofficial results of Lake County’s primaries are in, setting the stage for the November midterms and the County Board that will eventually look quite different.
With their current terms coming to a close, at least five County Board members are stepping down: Linda Pedersen, Ann Maine, Jessica Vealitzek, Angelo Kyle and Michael Danforth. And, if Board Chair Sandy Hart wins her race for county treasurer in November, her seat will be filled by an appointee, bringing the potential for new members to as many as six.
Naperville
In the first referendum to be approved since 1966, voters this week authorized the Naperville Park District to borrow $120 million to purchase two new open space areas and to build an activity center with three different types of swimming pools.
Niles
Niles voters agreed the village should continue its free bus service but rejected two other advisory referendums proposing new term limits for village leaders and inviting self-driving vehicles into the village.
Oak Park
The Park District of Oak Park will not be building an indoor pool, at least anytime soon. Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a referendum question regarding $40 million sought by the Park District of Oak Park to build an aquatic center adjacent to the Ridgeland Common Recreation Complex. Unofficial vote totals show the measure failing by a three-to-one margin, with 11,972 residents opposed and 3,731 voting in favor.
Orland Township and Thornton Township
Orland Township Trustee Kenneth Duffy declared victory in a race to direct the local Republican Party while state Sen. Napoleon Harris, the Thornton Township supervisor, was leading in the race to direct Thornton Township’s Democratic Party.
With 94% of estimated votes tallied in Orland Township, Duffy had 54.4% of votes while former township committeeperson Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman had 45.6% as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Will County
In the race for county sheriff, Deputy James “Jim” Reilly was leading in the Republican primary and Sgt. Patrick Jones in the Democratic primary in their bid to replace retiring Sheriff Mike Kelley. Jones had 59% of the votes to Undersheriff Dan Jungles, who received about 41% of the votes cast with all precincts reporting, according to unofficial results. On the Republican side, Reilly had 75.3% of the vote while Deputy Justin Fialko had about 24.7%.
The county treasurer’s race saw Homer Township Assessor Carmen Maurella leading with 64.4% to certified public accountant Raj “Pi” Pillai, of Plainfield, who had 35.6% of the votes.
Yorkville
Local voters on Tuesday appear to have rejected Yorkville School District 115’s proposal to issue $275 million in bonds to pay for two new school buildings and a significant addition to the district’s high school building, among other renovations.
