High-profile criminal prosecutions, some of them decades old, cast long shadows over the races for top prosecutor in two suburban counties.
In Will County, State’s Attorney James Glasgow, a Democrat, enjoyed nightly national television coverage as he led the murder prosecution of former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson while his Republican challenger, first-time candidate Dave Carlson, struggled for name recognition.
In Lake County, the two candidates vying to replace longtime State’s Attorney Michael Waller both ran promising to reform the office after a string of convictions were overturned by DNA evidence during Waller’s 22 years in office.
Carlson conceded defeat around 9:30 p.m., with unofficial results showing Glasgow leading Carlson with 57 percent of the vote and 90 percent of all precincts reporting. At a crowded Democratic Party gathering at a union hall in Joliet late Tuesday, Glasgow said he had not talked to Carlson and was “gratified” by the vote.
Earlier, Glasgow acknowledged Peterson’s conviction in September, followed two weeks later with a conviction in the trial of Christopher Vaughn in another highly publicized murder case, provided a boost to his campaign for a fifth term in office.
“These cases resonated with the community in a way I’ve never seen before,” he said.
Glasgow took nearly two months off the campaign season to handle the five-week trial of Peterson, who was convicted of the 2004 drowning of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
One of the key witnesses in the Peterson case, Mary Parks, showed up to congratulate Glasgow on Tuesday night.
“I so admire his integrity for pursuing justice for Kathy,” said Parks, a Joliet woman who attended nursing school with Savio. “I felt I had to support him.”
Glasgow said he plans to focus on addressing issues such as heroin addictions in the county. He noted that four years ago the county had only five overdoses, and this year the county will exceed 40 overdoses due to heroin.
Glasgow took nearly two months off the campaign season to handle the five-week trial of Peterson, who was convicted of the 2004 drowning of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Glasgow didn’t return to his campaign schedule until Vaughn’s trial for shooting his wife and three children in a bizarre plot to begin a new life in the Canadian wilderness, wound up two weeks after Peterson’s guilty verdict.
Democratic contender Carlson, a defense attorney who had worked as an assistant prosecutor under Glasgow for several years, tried to make a campaign issue of Glasgow’s missteps during the Peterson trial, claiming a “rusty” Glasgow took on the case to reap publicity from leading the prosecution of a tabloid villain.
Carlson had represented Brian Dorian, a Lynwood police officer who Glasgow had charged in another high-profile murder case, the “honey bee” shootings in 2010, only to drop the charges after evidence cleared Dorian.
Lake County
With all precincts reporting, Republican Mike Nerheim held a narrow lead over Democrat Chris Kennedy in the race to become the first new Lake County state’s attorney since 1992.
Kennedy late Tuesday conceded the race to Nerheim.
“It’s been a long 15 months,” Nerheim said. “I’ve tried very hard from day one to get out and talk to as many people as I can and listen to them.”
Nerheim captured 53 percent of the vote in his bid to succeed his former boss Waller, whose state’s attorney office has been scrutinized in recent years after several high-profile criminal cases fell apart in light of DNA evidence. In some cases, Waller’s office continued to pursue charges and convictions even when DNA suggested a different suspect.
Criticism of those cases was the backbone of the race. Both candidates vowed to establish a panel that could review questionable cases, although the structure of each proposed panel differed. Nerheim said he would establish a group of experts, such as retired attorneys, that would be independent of the state’s attorney’s office and examine cases with evidence pointing to a suspect’s innocence.
Juan Rivera was one of the men whose conviction was ultimately overturned by an appeals judge during Waller’s tenure. He was arrested when he was 19 and convicted three times of raping and murdering 11-year-old Holly Staker in Waukegan in 1992, even though DNA evidence suggested a different suspect.
Rivera voted for the first time in his life Tuesday. Though he has lived in Cook County since his release from prison this year, Rivera followed the state’s attorney race in Lake County and was pleased to see both candidates focus their campaigns on reforming the office to prevent wrongful convictions.
“The next individual that does take office, I advise them to take their time and not be so quick to convict and get tunnel vision. Be more thoughtful of false confessions,” Rivera said Tuesday evening. “We need a person that’s going to be trustworthy, so that when we put a person in prison, that person belongs in prison.”
In the race for Lake County Coroner, Democrat Thomas Rudd, a retired physician, appeared to have a narrow lead over Republican Steve Newton, a former chief deputy coroner. Newton had captured about 50.5 percent of the vote to Newton’s 49.5 percent.
Kane County
With 81 percent of precincts reporting, outgoing state Sen. Chris Lauzen had a lead over former St. Charles Mayor Sue Klinkhamer in the race for Kane County Board chairman.
More Top Picks Adata Se800
Lauzen had earned about 58 percent of the vote late Tuesday and was optimistic in the traditionally Republican county.
“I’m very excited about the work the board and I will do together,” Lauzen said at Aurelio’s Pizza in Geneva where many Kane County Republicans gathered to watch election results.
Klinkhamer, reached by phone at a family gathering, said this is the last campaign she’ll run, calling it an “experiment.”
“Somebody someday will take no money and win a campaign,” she said, referring to the fact she raised no money and spent little on her campaign. “I’m just grateful for the number of votes I got.”
Lauzen and Klinkhamer, both 59, differed on how to run the County Board, manage finances — and on campaigning in general.
Lauzen, a 20-year veteran of the state Legislature, vowed to freeze the county’s property tax levy to offer some relief for homeowners in unincorporated areas of the west suburban county.
Klinkhamer said that wouldn’t really result in significant savings because the county’s portion of the tax bill pales in comparison to school districts and other taxing bodies. Instead, she promised to cut the board chairman salary by 25 percent and reduce the size of the board. Although members voted last year to reduce the 26-member board by two in time for this year’s election, Klinkhamer said she’d combine even more districts.
The two candidates also butted heads on hiring a county administrator to examine finances and the day-to-day operations of the county.
Klinkhamer welcomed the addition, saying it would take politics out of board chairman decisions. Lauzen, an accountant, said he welcomed the opportunity to delve into the county’s finances, drawing inspiration from the DuPage County Board which in the past froze its property tax levy.
Freelance reporter Alicia Fabbre contributed.