Monday was the last day for candidates to file to run in the 2016 general primary for county races, and dozens of candidates put their names in to be on the ballot.
Filing for county-wide offices began Nov. 23 and concluded Monday. The primary election is set for March 15, 2016.
Kane County
Suzanne Fahnestock, Kane County chief deputy clerk and director of elections, said the past week has been busy.
“Our office was busy receiving the filings, scanning the petitions and posting the positions for public viewing on the website,” Fahnestock said Tuesday.
Two of the county’s key Republican office holders have challengers in the spring primary. Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen will face-off with challenger Kenneth Shepro, an attorney from Wayne, in the primary. Lauzen defeated two challengers in 2012, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns in the primary and former St. Charles Mayor Sue Klinkhamer in the general election. It was Lauzen’s first bid for the office after two decades as an Illinois state senator.
Kane County Coroner Rob Russell will have a familiar contender in the Republican primary. Russell defeated Bob Tiballi in his first bid for the office in the 2012 Republican primary and went on to defeat Democratic candidate Tao Martinez in the general election. Tiballi is on the primary ballot again for the March contest.
Incumbent County Auditor Terry Hunt will face challenger Craig Lee in the GOP primary.
Kane County Circuit Clerk Thomas Hartwell and Kane County Recorder Sandy Wegman do not have opponents in the GOP primary next year.
Fahnestock said a series of public lotteries will be held at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 9 at the Kane County Clerk’s Office in Geneva for those candidates that filed their petitions simultaneously during the one-week filing period.
Two lotteries to determine the ballot placement will be held in the Republican primary for Kane County coroner and Kane County auditor.
In all, there will be seven lotteries, which include the Republican primary for Kane County Board District 10 and District 18, as well as the Democratic primary for Kane County Board District 22.
The lotteries are open to the public and will be held at the Kane County Government Building B, at 719 S. Batavia Ave. in Geneva.
“The names will be drawn out of a box. The first name drawn will be placed first on the ballot for the respective office,” Fahnestock said.
Filing to run in the March election for the Republicans are Lauzen and Shepro for County Board chairman; Hartwell for circuit clerk; Hunt and Lee for auditor; Russell and Tiballi for coroner; Wegman for recorder; and Joseph McMahon for state’s attorney.
In County Board races in the GOP, Donald G. Baltzer filed in District 6; Linda Pasetti-Olson in District 8; Susan Starrett and Doug Sullivan in District 10; John Hoscheit in District 12; Mark Davoust in District 14; Michael J. Kenyon in District 16; James A. Mac Runnels and Andrew Frasz in District 18; Douglas J. Scheflow in District 22 and Roben B. Hall and Billita Jacobsen in District 24.
In the Democratic primary, Tao Martinez and John Shoemaker are running for coroner; Theresa Barreiro in County Board District 2; Brian Pollock and Angela Clay Thomas in District 4; Brian W. Dahl in District 6; Barbara Hernandez and Margarita Ferguson in District 8; Todd A. Zies in District 10; Penny Wegman and Tom Armstrong in District 20; Willie Clements and Randy Hopp in District 22; and Joseph R. Haimann and Jarett Sanchez in District 24.
DuPage County
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Most DuPage County Board candidates will breeze through the spring primary elections and on to next November’s general race, as just two Republican primary races — and no Democratic races — are set to take place.
On the Republican ballot, a total of 17 candidates are running for 12 open seats across DuPage County’s six districts. For the March 15 Republican primary, 10 of these seats will be uncontested, allowing candidates for those spots to sail on through to the Nov. 8 general election, in which most will face a Democratic opponent.
On the Democratic ballot, nine candidates have filed to run unopposed for county board seats during the Democratic primary.
The first of two Republican primary races will take place in District 2, where four Republican candidates are vying for the opportunity to challenge Democratic incumbent Liz Chaplin in November’s race. Chaplin, who was first elected to the county board in 2012, is unchallenged in the Democratic primary.
In the Republican primary, the two-year term is sought by former Oak Brook Village Trustee Elaine Zannis, who is making her second attempt at winning a seat on the board. She will face off against Elmhurst attorney Richard F. Blass, former Lombard Trustee Zachary Wilson and Anna Manzo, of Oak Brook.
District 2 comprises areas of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Westmont, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Lisle, Woodridge and Naperville.
In District 4, three Republican candidates are running for the open four-year seat currently held by County Board member Karyn Romano, who was appointed to the position and will not run for re-election.
Tim Elliott, a Glen Ellyn village trustee and an attorney representing the College of DuPage, will face Michelle Moore, a Wheaton-based municipal prosecutor who lives in an unincorporated area of the county near Glen Ellyn, and John Allen, of Wheaton.
The winner of the Republican primary will likely face Democrat Khizar Jafri of Wheaton.
District 4 includes parts of Wheaton, Lombard, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream.
There will be one Republican primary race for a seat on the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission. In District 5, incumbent Mary Lou Wehrli of Naperville faces Carl Schultz of Aurora. Schultz, a longtime veteran of the commission, will try and recapture the seat Wehrli won from him in the 2012 primary.
Republican incumbents will likely hold on to the top countywide offices in DuPage County. No challengers filed to run against Robert Berlin for DuPage County state’s attorney, Chris Kachiroubas for circuit court clerk, Bob Grogan for auditor, and Richard Jorgensen for coroner during the November general election.
Republican incumbent Fred Bucholz, the county recorder, will likely be challenged by Democrat M. Moon Khan of Lombard in November.
Kendall County
There will be a Republican primary race for the coroner’s office in Kendall County.
Two candidates filed this week to run to replace Ken Toftoy, who is retiring and not running for re-election.
Jacquie Purcell, of Yorkville, has filed to run. She has served as Toftoy’s chief deputy and office manager, and also is the wife of Kendall County Board member John Purcell. Also filing to fun is Carl Gutierrez, of Oswego.
That will be the only race for countywide offices in the March 15 primary. Both Circuit Clerk Robyn Ingemunson and State’s Attorney Eric Weis filed for the primary with no opponents. Weis is running for re-election; Ingemunson was appointed circuit clerk earlier this year and will be running for the first time.
No Democrats filed for countywide office in the primary.
There will be primary contests on the GOP side of the Kendall County Board races.
In the 1st District, where there are two seats open, incumbent John Purcell, of Yorkville filed, as did challengers Todd Milliron, of rural Yorkville, and Jerry Bannister, of Oswego. One candidate filed on the Democratic side, Audra Hendrix, of Yorkville.
In the 2nd District, five candidates on the Republican side and two on the Democratic side filed for three open spots. Filing on the Republican side were: Dan Koukol, of Oswego, an incumbent; Diane Selmer, of Oswego; J. Anthony “Tony” Giles, of Oswego; Matthew J. Kellogg, of Yorkville; and Jeremy A. Swanson, of Montgomery.
Filing on the Democratic side in the 2nd District were: Elizabeth Flowers, of Montgomery, an incumbent; and Kristine Heiman, of Oswego.
Steve Lord is a reporter for The Beacon-News, Marwa Eltagouri is a reporter for the baiduhai and Linda Girardi is a freelance writer for the Beacon-News