Five votes decides on Lake Co. board contest

After waiting hours for election results, candidates for Lake County Board seats finally learned of their respective victories and defeats late Tuesday -- if they hadn't already gone to sleep.

Computers in the Lake County Building in Waukegan failed to read results after the election and totals had to be hand-delivered, causing significant delays.

Lake board District 16

Voters boosted an incumbent and an experienced campaigner forward Tuesday in the race for the Lake County Board's District 16 spot.

With all 23 precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals showed Robert E. "Bob" Powers, 63, led Jeanne Goshgarian, 61, by just five votes -- 620 to 615 -- for the chance to represent the GOP in November.

Goshgarian, a Round Lake resident, said the contest was "an amazing race."

"It was a very hard-fought campaign," she said. "It was a very clean campaign."

Powers of Round Lake Beach was unavailable for comment, but had previously said he was confident his experience in the district would push him over the edge.

"I work with a lot of the people in the Round Lake area," Powers said. "I'm involved a lot in the community."

In the Democrats' corner, Terry Wilke, 42, used his experience on several local campaigns to defeat Douglas Raul Williams, 47.

"What surprised me the most was the turnout," Wilke said. "That's pretty impressive and I think that bodes well for November."

With all 23 precincts reporting, unofficial totals showed Wilke, a Round Lake Beach resident, with 1,292 votes and Williams with 1,095.

Williams, a Hainesville resident, blamed his loss on a last-minute mailer that accused him of being in favor of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

"I really never saw much campaigning (by Wilke)," Williams said. "It's kind of difficult to lose something on a last-minute mailing and especially a negative one."

Wilke said he had heard of the mailer but had nothing to do with it.

"It absolutely didn't come from our campaign," Wilke said. "I don't do negative campaigning."

District 16 includes all or parts of Round Lake Beach, Round Lake, Hainesville and Round Lake Heights.

Lake Board District 5

Incumbent Bonnie Thomson Carter said her positive campaign is what led to her victory Tuesday night.

With ballots in all 29 precincts counted in the often-heated GOP primary race, unofficial results showed Carter, 52, of Ingleside took in 2,453 votes. The challenger, Kirk Denz, 39, also of Ingleside, collected 1,188 votes.

All totals recorded late Tuesday are unofficial.

"I'm looking forward to the next four years," Carter said. "I'm really excited because people agree with what we have been doing for the last 12 years. I think they trust me and want to continue to work with me as their Lake County board candidate."

Denz had no comment.

District 5 encompasses portions of Fox Lake, Ingleside, Round Lake, Volo, Lakemoor and Wauconda.

Lake board District 1

An Antioch truck driver vowing to improve county roads was elected Tuesday in the Democratic primary.

Peter Grant, 55, cleared the first hurdle and now will face Republican Linda Pedersen in November. Pedersen was hand-picked by longtime board member Judy Martini, who is not seeking re-election.

"I can't tell you how good this feels," Grant said. "It was a squeaker, too. I credit all the hard work and all the help I got from everybody. We did the dirty work on the streets and were out getting one vote at a time."

With ballots in all 29 precincts counted, preliminary results showed 1,294 voters chose Grant. Steve Skinner, 48, received 1,239 votes, while Gene Kryczka, 36, got 845 votes.

Grant said he will relish his victory for the next couple of days and then plan his strategy against Pedersen.

Skinner and Kryczka, both of Antioch, could not be reached for comment.

The economy was a major issue for the three candidates. Grant cited road improvements, particularly along the Route 173 corridor, as the key to luring businesses to Lake County.

District 1 represents Antioch and portions of Fox Lake, Spring Grove, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst and Old Mill Creek.

Lake board District 2

Democrats chose Diane Hewitt in Tuesday's primary to be their standard bearer in the fall election.

With all 28 precincts reporting, unofficial totals showed Hewitt, 53, of Waukegan defeated 52-year-old Mark Stricklin of Beach Park by 2,322 to 1,388.

In November, Hewitt will face incumbent board member Randall Whitmore, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Hewitt, a switchboard operator for the city of Waukegan who ran unsuccessfully for the district board seat in 2006, said she wants county government to cut spending as a way to control tax increases.