Hoffman Estates voters give McLeod a 4th term

William McLeod will be serving a fourth term as mayor after beating Ray Kincaid by 356 votes.

According to unofficial results, McLeod won with 2,249 votes, compared to Kincaid’s 1,893 votes.

“I’m grateful to the people of Hoffman Estates for allowing me to continue to serve,” McLeod said. “It’s an honor to be given the sacred trust they’ve placed in me.”

McLeod has served on the village board since 1980. He was named acting mayor in 2000 after Michael O’Malley died and he was elected to his first term in 2001.

McLeod said he believes being around for a long time helped him win, as residents have seen the job he’s done. He also gave credit to the people who helped him with his campaign.

“It’s so humbling,” he said, adding that he is thankful for the time volunteers put into visiting homes, sending emails and making phone calls on his behalf.

In his next term, McLeod said he is looking forward to building the village’s entertainment district, getting more homes built in the village, working on the National Veterans Museum if the idea moves ahead and continuing to provide “outstanding service” to the community.

Kincaid, who has served as a village trustee since 2005, said even though he lost, he felt blessed.

“The people have spoken,” he said. “They feel that the village is on the right track. The people voted and I’ll accept that.”

Kincaid said he can’t thank all the volunteers who helped him with his campaign enough.

“This was harder than I had anticipated,” he said. “The amount of time they put in was incredible.”

While he isn’t sure where the future might take him in regards to politics, Kincaid said he knows he has the capability to help others be heard.

“I have so many friends and people who look to me for my leadership and my support in a way that I can represent and present the things they’re concerned about,” he said.

Kincaid added that he didn’t feel like he left anything in the field.

“I believe I ran a good campaign,” he said. “I worked right up to 7 o’clock, right to when the polls closed. I worked hard. I don’t feel like I shorted myself. I did the best I could.”