Incumbent Kim defeats challenger McGuire in Lake County treasurer race

Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, a Mundelein Democrat, defeated challenger Paula McGuire, a Green Oaks Republican, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

Kim had 122,807 votes to McGuire's 90,825 votes - a difference of nearly 32,000 votes.

The unofficial total Tuesday night includes all ballots cast from early voting and all vote by mail ballots received by the county before Tuesday as well as in-person votes cast on Election Day from all voting locations in the county but one, according to county officials.

No late-arriving mail or provisional ballots have been uploaded Tuesday night. Kim's apparent victory won't be made official until the results are certified, which usually happens two weeks after Election Day.

McGuire, 58, said that, as a certified public accountant with 30 years' experience, she has done what a county treasurer is expected to do and, if elected, would make her office more customer service-minded.

Kim, 42, said she changed the office for the better during her term, including launching electronic billing, hosting more than 50 community info sessions, and temporarily allowing property owners to pay their taxes in installments to offset financial burdens caused by the pandemic.

Kim defeated one-term incumbent David Stolman, a Buffalo Grove Republican, in 2018 as part of a blue wave that gave Democrats a board majority for the first time in Lake County history, as well as victories in the races for clerk and sheriff.