Republicans do well on McHenry County Board

Republicans reign in Dist. 2:

Republican incumbent and McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler and Republican Donna Kurtz easily won election in the county board's second district.

Koehler and Kurtz squared off for two, 2-year seats on the county board against Democrat Mark Booras.

According to unofficial totals, Kurtz had 7,199 votes, Koehler had 5,786 votes with Booras receiving 4,584 votes.

Booras ran with the idea that McHenry County needs more Democrats to accurately represent the population.

Like Kurtz, he called for a smaller board to further cut costs.

Kurtz argued for fiscal responsibility through reducing the size of government.

Koehler, however, defended the need for a 24-member board and said partisan politics play a very small role on the county level.

District 3:

Republicans retained both two-year seats in McHenry County's 3rd District.

With all precincts reporting, Republican incumbent Barbara Wheeler and Republican Nick Provenzano, voted out last time, easily won election, defeating political novice Lori McConville, a Democrat.

Unofficial tallies say Wheeler had 7,169 votes, Provenzano had 6,740 votes and McConville had 4,923 votes.

Provenzano said it's great to be back on the board.

“I look forward to working with Chairman Koehler and returning jobs to McHenry County,” he said. “That is our number one goal in McHenry County.”

The candidates differed on county spending.

Wheeler and Provenzano favored cutbacks while McConville endorsed business and infrastructure spending.

District 4:

Republican incumbents Peter Merkel and Sandra Fay Salgado fended off a challenge from Democrat Jeff Thirtyacre in McHenry County's 4th District.

According to unofficial results, Merkel had 7,327 votes, Salgado had 7,107 votes and Thirtyacre had 4,450 votes.

The candidates differed on issues related to county spending.

The Republicans said the county should continue to cut spending.

On the other hand, Thirtyacre made job creation the hallmark of his campaign, saying authorities needed to do more to bring business to the county.

As well, all three candidates agreed that resolving transportation and logistical issues within the county would be another high priority.

District 5:

Democratic incumbent James Kennedy was knocked out of the four-way race for two seats in District 5.

Those seats went to incumbent Republican Tina Hill and former Republican board member John Jung Jr. Also appearing on the ballot was Green Party candidate Frank Wedig.

According to unofficial tallies, Jung had 9,193 votes, Hill had 7,987 votes, Kennedy had 5,963 votes and Wedig had 2,179 votes.

“We worked very hard but I think the people decided to go with a different leadership philosophy than what we preached,” Kennedy said.

Hill was the only one in the race to support video gambling in county businesses. The rest pointed to what they see as corrupting elements of the machines and supported the board's December ban.

If Kennedy had won re-election, it would have marked his fourth year.

District 6:

Republicans won seats in the three-way race for District 6. Voters chose incumbent Republican Mary McCann and newcomer Republican Diane Evertsen over Dennis Palys, a Democrat.

According to unofficial totals, McCann had 9,270 votes, Evertsen had 8,463 votes and Palys had 5,926 votes.

While McCann and Evertsen believe in better communication and in fostering greater transparency among board members, Palys said he was running to give voters another option in the district.