Candidates for countywide and county board seats have submitted nominating petitions to be on the March 19 primary ballot in Will and DuPage counties.
All countywide incumbents in Will have filed for another four-year term, with many not facing a challenger until the general election in November because no one is opposing them in the primary.
The filing deadline was Monday.
The incumbents — all Democrats — running for reelection are Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant for county executive, Andrea Lynn Chasteen for circuit clerk, Laurie Summers for coroner, Kevin “Duffy” Blackburn for auditor, Karen A. Stukel for recorder of deeds and James W. Glasgow for state’s attorney.
Four Republican candidates will appear unopposed on the Republican pimary ballot and will face off against the incumbents in November 2024.
Charles “Chuck” Maher, a former Republican leader on the Will County Board from Naperville, is running for county executive.
Plainfield resident Robert Enright, who unsuccessfully sought the position of Will County Republican Central Committee chair last year, filed to run for county coroner.
Republican County Board member Raquel Mitchell, who has represented the Bolingbrook and Romeoville area of the county since 2020, will be on the recorder of deeds ballot.
James Robert Buiter, Crete Township clerk, is running for auditor.
No Republicans filed to run for circuit clerk or state’s attorney.
Glasgow is the longest serving state’s attorney in Will County history, having served for all but four years since 1992.
The Will County Board currently has 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans with Bertino-Tarrant breaking any partisan ties.
Because the board has staggered terms, three districts with two members each are up for reelection next year, which could change the board’s political dynamics.
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Only two districts will have a contested primary in March.
Incumbents Janet Diaz and Denise Winfrey, who are both Democrats, have filed to run for reelection in District 6, which includes Joliet. They will be challenged in the Democratic primary by Herbert Brooks Jr., a former Will County board member who lost his seat in the last election when his petitions were challenged and he was removed from the ballot. Republican Enrique Ruiz is also running for District 6.
In District 7, which includes portions of Plainfield and Joliet, incumbent Natalie Coleman, a Plainfield Democrat who has represented the district since 2020, did not file for reelection. Democrats will have a contested primary for District 7 with Dawn L. Bullock, David Lozano and Demmond Dorris vying for two spots.
Incumbent Republican Vince Logan, who was elected in 2022, filed for reelection along with Republican Elizabeth (Betsy) Naglich.
Two Democrats and two Republicans filed to run for District 10, which includes Naperville and Aurora.
The district is currently represented by Democrat Meta Mueller, of Aurora, the former board majority leader and current chair of the board’s Capital Improvements Committee, and Republican Julie Berkowicz, of Naperville, who is the chair of the board’s Legislative Committee. Both board members have represented the district since 2018 and have filed to run for another term.
Kelly Hickey, a Wheatland Township Board trustee, will join Mueller on the Democratic primary ballot.
Attorney David J. Scriven-Young, will join Berkowicz on the Republican primary ballot.
The District 10 primary race is not contested since voters can select two candidates per party, who will go on to compete for two seats in November.
DuPage County
In DuPage County, Democrats will have a contested primary for coroner and recorder.
Attorney Jeffrey M. Jacobson and Judith Lukas, a Winfield Township Board trustee and registered nurse, have filed for coroner.
For recorder, incumbent Kathleen V. Carrier will be challenged by Elizabeth (Liz) Chaplin, a county board member representing District 2, and Peter “Pete” DiCianni, a former Republican county board member who has switched parties.
Democratic candidates who will be uncontested in the primary are incumbent Candice Adams for circuit court clerk and incumbent William “Bill” White for county auditor. Both Adams and White have been in their positions since 2020.
No Democrats filed to run for county state’s attorney.
On the Republican side, there will be no contested primaries for the countywide positions. Incumbent Robert “Bob” Berlin, who has served as state’s attorney since 2010, is seeking reelection as is coroner Richard Jorgensen, who has served since 2012.
Bob Grogan, a three-time county auditor, filed for auditor and Nicole Prater, Winfield Township supervisor, filed for recorder. Jeremy “Jaye” Wang, who serves on the DuPage Regional Office of Education Board of Trustees, filed for circuit court clerk.
For county board districts that cover the Naperville and Aurora areas, Democrat incumbent Lucy Chang Evans, who has been serving since 2022, filed for District 3 and incumbent Greg Schwarze, who has been serving since 2020, filed for District 6. Saba Haider, a board member for the DuPage County Health Department and director for the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, filed for District 5.
They will run uncontested in the primary election.
On the Republican side, Baron Leacock, a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School, filed for District 3. Incumbent Republican Patricia “Patty” Gustin, who has been serving since 2022, filed for District 5 and Joe Soto, a Milton Township Trustee, filed for District 6.
They will also run uncontested in the primary.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.