Former Grayslake mayor takes seat on county board

Running on a campaign of accountability and fiscal responsibility, former Grayslake Mayor Pat Carey won a seat on the Lake County Board on Tuesday.

Carey, a Democrat, beat Republican incumbent Terese Douglass to take the 11th District seat, unofficial results showed. With ballots in all 25 precincts counted, Carey had 7,458 votes, or about 57 percent, to Douglass' 5,734 votes. Those totals didn't include results from provisional ballots or late absentee votes.

Carey was one of four Democrats who seized Republican-held seats on the board Tuesday, further eroding the GOP's long-standing control of the 23-member panel.

She doesn't expect Tuesday's Democratic victories will lead to partisan bickering on the board, which doubles as the forest district commission and historically hasn't voted along party lines.

"Being Democrat or Republican doesn't make any difference," Carey said. "I'm very excited about getting back in (elected office). I think there's a lot we can do in the county."