Island Lake trustees race to be decided by coin flip

After months of door-knocking, handshaking and mudslinging, the race for a seat on the Island Lake village board will be decided by a coin flip Wednesday.

Representatives with the Lake County and McHenry County clerks' offices counted late-arriving absentee and provisional ballots on Tuesday, and the results left two candidates — Charles Cermak and Allen Murvine — tied for the third of three seats that were up for election in Island Lake.

Cermak and Murvine — both members of the same political slate — were also even after initial votes were counted Election Day, April 5. Each gained one additional vote Tuesday, the clerks' offices reported.

By state law, a coin flip or a different act of chance decides who gets the job, officials have said. Accordingly, someone will flip a coin at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Lake County Clerk's office in Waukegan to determine the winner.

The task falls to Lake County because Island Lake's village hall is within that county.

The candidates typically choose who gets heads and who gets tails, County Clerk Willard Helander said.

Cermak said he was surprised by the extended tie, but he didn't sound worried about the coin flip.

“Whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I'm just happy that the people came out and voted.”

Murvine said it's strange that the race will be decided by the flip of a coin, but he wasn't nervous about it.

“We both came from the same slate and we have the same agenda,” he said. “So it's a win for our slate either way.”

Shannon Fox and Thea Morris were the clear winners for two other board seats, unofficial results showed.

All three seats have 4-year terms. Whoever loses the coin flip comes in fourth and won't join the board.

According to the unofficial results: Fox placed first with 635 votes; Morris was second with 617 votes; Cermak and Murvine were tied at 576; Mary Piekarski had 557 votes; and Joe Ptak had 522 votes.

Cermak, Murvine and Piekarski each gained one vote in Lake County as a result of Tuesday's count. The McHenry County results didn't change.

Cermak, Murvine and Piekarski ran together and were endorsed by Mayor Debbie Herrmann. Fox, Morris and Ptak ran together as a rival slate.

Herrmann was disappointed the final count left Cermak and Murvine tied.

“I would've liked the people to decide (who wins) instead of whoever flips the coin,” she said.

Election ties are rare in Lake County.

In 2009, incumbent Barry MacLean and challenger Jess Ray tied in the race for Mettawa mayor. Ray was declared the winner after late-arriving absentee ballots were counted.

A 2003 race for the North Chicago city council and a 1995 race for the Barrington Park District board also resulted in ties. In both cases, coin flips decided the matter.