Roskam retains 6th Congressional seat

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam kept the 6th Congressional District in Republican hands Tuesday in his first re-election bid with a win over Democrat Jill Morgenthaler.

With 99 percent of precincts counted, Roskam, a Wheaton attorney, garnered 58 percent of the vote while Morgenthaler, a Des Plaines retired Army Reserves colonel, received 42 percent, according to unofficial results.

"We have a great blessing of freedom and I don't take that lightly," Roskam told an enthusiastic crowd of about 300 who packed his headquarters at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale and chanted "Peter, Peter."

"He'll work for the values and morals we all have," supporter Marit Bell of Bartlett said.

Roskam said in his second term he would "focus on the economy - that's what's foremost on the minds of the 6th District."

Morgenthaler did not immediately concede Tuesday night, and her campaign staff said they were concerned about voting irregularities.

Earlier in the evening, she said, "I'm nervous and hopeful. We're neck and neck."

The race between the two rivals was a toxic one. Roskam went on the attack early in the game with television ads tying Morgenthaler, a former top state homeland security adviser, to unpopular Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his former fundraiser Tony Rezko, now convicted of corruption. His chief criticism was that Morgenthaler had backed a proposal for a security company Rezko was connected with to train Iraqi troops in Illinois. The deal never materialized and Morgenthaler said she did not know Rezko or that he was involved with the security firm.

Morgenthaler countered late in the campaign with a commercial that lambasted Roskam, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, for accepting campaign contributions from financial firms. She frequently accused Roskam of "going Washington."

According to Oct. 15 campaign finance reports, Roskam entered the final stretch with $700,000 cash on hand compared to Morgenthaler with about $100,000.

• Anna Marie Kukec and Jeff Pizek contributed to this report.