GOP sweeps DuPage County Board races

All six winners in the DuPage County Board races are Republicans.

In 2008, Democrats took seats in three of the county board's six districts for the first time since the Carter administration, but couldn't come up with the same magic Tuesday.

No races were close. The tightest race was in District 1 where the candidates were separated by nearly 7,500 votes out of 37,860 cast.

The Republicans join newly minted DuPage County Board Chairman-elect Dan Cronin who handily defeated his opponent Carole Cheney.

All the races are for two-year terms, and all of the county board seats are up for grabs in two years after the district maps are redrawn following the release of U.S. Census population figures. Here is a district-by-district rundown:

District 1:

Don Puchalski defeated Kathryn Salzano in the District 1 race and carried 60 percent of the vote, with all 118 precincts reporting, unofficial results indicate.

Puchalski is a 54-year-old lawyer who was first appointed to the county board in 2005 and won election to his first term four years ago.

He campaigned on fiscal conservation and transparency, saying he wanted to put the county's checkbook online and allow online contract bidding.

District 2:

Incumbent Jeff Redick carried 59 percent of the vote to defeat Catherine Sewell in the District 2 race, with all 154 precincts unofficially tallied.

Redick was first elected to the board in 2006. He serves on a number of county board committees and is chairman of the environmental committee. The 41-year-old attorney from Elmhurst said the county should lower taxes to provide economic relief to residents struggling with the economic downturn.

District 3:

Brian Krajewski captured 62 percent of the vote in winning the District 3 seat over Karol Sole, with all 124 precincts unofficially reporting.

This was one of two county board races without an incumbent. Former board member Tom Bennington served out the remainder of Kyle Gilgis' term after Gilgis resigned last year.

Krajewski is the former mayor of Downers Grove who campaigned on cutting taxes and job creation. He is a 48-year-old attorney and accountant.

District 4:

JR McBride won a second term with 63 percent of the vote over Democrat Tom Wendorf in the District 4 race, with all 129 precincts unofficially reporting.

McBride is a 42-year-old insurance broker from Glen Ellyn who was first elected to the county board four years ago. McBride said his top issues will be stabilizing the tax burden on taxpayers and improving communication with residents about county happenings.

District 5:

John Zediker had 61 percent of the vote against Brian Duewel with all 125 precincts unofficially counted.

Zediker was appointed to the county board in 2009 when former board Michael Connelly was elected to the state General Assembly. Zediker, 38-year-old executive from Naperville said the county needs to invest more in infrastructure and was instrumental in getting the recent $70 million capital improvement borrowing plan approved by the county board by pushing the board to use savings from the elimination of 30 vacant positions.

District 6:

Bob Larsen defeated Democrat Dave Barry with all 110 precincts reporting. Larsen captured 62 percent of the vote.

Neither of the candidates in this race were incumbents. Larsen will replace longtime board member Linda Kurzawa.

Larsen ran unsuccessfully for a county board seat in 2008 and is currently a Milton Township trustee.

The 46-year-old attorney from Wheaton said he wanted to ensure proper funding for the county's public safety agencies and protect private property rights.