Laura Faver Dias wins state House seat, will resign from Grayslake village board

The people of Grayslake are gaining a new state representative and losing a village board member after Lauren Faver Dias' election victory Tuesday.

Dias, a Grayslake Democrat, defeated Republican Adam Shores in the 62nd state House District race, unofficial vote totals show.

Dias and Shores were colleagues on the Grayslake village board starting in the spring of 2021. Shores resigned in April, when he moved his family to Libertyville.

Dias said she plans to resign the village board soon herself. She said leaving the board is the right thing to do but said it will be bittersweet because of how much she enjoyed working on behalf of village residents.

She said she hasn't yet looked into when would be the appropriate time to resign from the board.

"I didn't want to jinx myself," Dias said.

Grayslake leaders typically solicit applications from interested residents when seeking to fill a seat after a trustee resigns midterm. As was the case when Shores resigned in April, Mayor Rhett Taylor reviewed the cover letters and resumes, interviewed the top applicants and selected his preferred replacement.

The decision then goes to the village board for a vote, and if a simple majority is reached, the mayor's pick is seated.

Meanwhile, in her newly elected role, Dias said she hopes to open a strong district office to serve residents who need help dealing with state government. The 62nd House District includes much of the Round Lake area, Grayslake and a portion of Libertyville.

In the lead-up to Tuesday's election, Dias estimated, she knocked on around 10,000 doors in her effort to get to know district voters. She credited her win to a combination of that hard work and her commitment to work on the issues voters care most about.

Dias said voters shared concerns about protecting women's reproductive rights, passing common-sense gun legislation and continuing to grow the local economy in smart, data-driven ways.

"It's hard work, but it was a joy to talk to so many people," said Dias, whose voice was hoarse Wednesday from all that talking.

Dias earned 17,314 votes to Shores' 12,944 votes, according to unofficial tallies of ballots cast by mail, on Election Day and during early voting. The total does not yet include provisional ballots or late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots. Votes are canvassed and made official around two weeks after Election Day.

There was no incumbent in the race. Current Rep. Sam Yingling ran unsuccessfully for the 31st state Senate seat vacated by Melinda Bush, who is set to retire.

Dias said Shores called her Wednesday to offer congratulations on her win.

"In this climate of a fragile democracy, I really appreciate that and applaud him for doing it," Dias said. "He's a good candidate and a credit to his party."