Kline, Bednar, Gross and Wegman elected for Gail Borden library

Two of three incumbents were re-elected to the Gail Borden Public Library board, according to unofficial results for Tuesday's election.

Challenger Donna Kline was the top-vote getter with 5,416 votes - or an average 21 percent - with all precincts reporting in Kane and Cook counties, followed by incumbent and current board president Jean Bednar with 5,232 votes, or 20.3 percent of votes, incumbent Herb Gross with 4,468 votes or 17.3 percent, and challenger and former trustee Penny Wegman with 4,187 votes, or 16.2 percent.

Also in the running were incumbent Carlos Chavez, who was appointed in August, and Randy Hopp, a former trustee who served on the library board until 2013.

Kline, 57, retired last summer as director of deacon ministries for the Church of the Brethren. She said she wants to continue fostering the library's community partnerships and improve parking access for elderly patrons.

Jean Bednar, a 10-year veteran of the board, said her re-election is a testament to the library's success. "(Voters) are not just supporting me - they're supporting the library," she said. "I'm very happy to keep serving the library."

Chavez's loss is also a loss for the library, Bednar said. "We really like a board with diversity, so I hate to lose that," she said. Board secretary Lisa Knight did not run for re-election.

Wegman said she is not in favor of remodeling the first floor of the main library, a project roughly estimated at $611,000 to be funded by reserves. Kline, Bednar and Gross disagreed, saying it's about better serving patrons.