Abboud wins second term in Barrington Hills

Barrington Hills voters Tuesday showed they liked what they saw from Robert Abboud's first four years as village president.

Abboud was re-elected over challenger and Trustee George Schueppert 820 to 553, winning 59.7 percent of the vote.

Voters first elected Abboud president after a four-year term as trustee. Schueppert became a trustee at the same time.

Abboud's aggressive negotiation style managed to irritate Schueppert and his supporters, and became a major campaign issue. Abboud's camp tried to paint Schueppert, 70, as a throwback to the Jim Kempe era. Abboud defeated Kempe four years ago, ending his tenure as village president, which had begun in 1985.

The campaign saw its fair share of mudslinging from both sides. The candidates sparred on litigation and zoning issues and how best to handle them. Barrington Hills' zoning is known for its friendliness to the horseback-riding community. Schueppert also questioned Abboud's commitment to serving out his term since last year Abboud ran for the U.S. House's 16th District, losing to Don Manzullo. Abboud, 52, made no promises to stay in the village president's post for the duration of the next term.