Donley, Schuster take 6th Dist.

McHenry County Board incumbent Randall Donley and former board member Ersel Schuster beat out three challengers in the 6th District Republican primary.

With all precincts counted, Donley won with 2,549 votes, Schuster placed second with 1,937 votes, John Jones came in third with 1,630 votes, Harry Alten was fourth with 1,612 votes and Roger Naylor got 1,475 votes, according to unofficial totals.

The vote totals do not include early voting, which still were being tallied early this morning.

"I can only hope it was because I was on the board and they saw the job I was doing, because if it was anything other than that, I would be disappointed," Donley said.

Schuster said she was pleased with Tuesday's outcome but expected a tough general election, when she will face Democrats Robert Ludwig and Darryl Frank.

"They're both formidable gentlemen," Schuster said. "It'll be another horse race."

The main issue in the race was the county's water supply. Donley and Schuster both supported farmland preservation as a way to conserve water, but they split over an independent water authority -- which Schuster backed and Donley opposed.