All Lake County board incumbents appear headed to reelection; Dem majority will stay 14-5.
One race was somewhat close but overall, incumbents in five contested races for Lake County Board were well ahead of opponents Tuesday, and if the results hold, a 14-5 Democratic majority will continue.
Two Republicans and three Democrats were headed for reelection, unofficial results showed.
Seven county board seats were up for election but only five were contested. Veteran incumbent Democrats Diane Hewitt and Mary Ross-Cunningham in districts 8 and 9, respectively, in the Waukegan area were unopposed.
Unofficial results Tuesday night showed Republican incumbents, Adam Schlick of Wauconda with 9,728 votes ahead of challenger Hilary Winiarz with 9,162 votes in District 2 and J. Kevin Hunter from Ingleside with 9,620 votes to 7,118 for Democrat Michael J. Conway, in District 5.
About two hours after the polls closed, Democratic incumbents were thumping their challengers. In a contest of Lake Bluff residents in District 13, Sandy Hart had 5,593 votes to 4,043 for Ben Grum; Sara Frederick Knizhnik of Vernon Hills was ahead of Kildeer resident Alex Sofronas 9,087 to 7,649 votes in District 18; and, Paras Parekh of Highland Park was hammering challenger Andrew Dalkin of Lake Forest 12,412 to 7,528 votes in District 12.
County board elections are scheduled on a cycle and all incumbents on the ballot Tuesday had been elected in 2022 to two-year terms. All winners Tuesday will serve four-year terms. County board members also serve as Lake County Forest Preserve District commissioners.
Hart has served on the county board for 12 years, the last six as chair for what is considered a full-time job. Leadership positions are selected by the full board every two years following the November general election. Hart's annual salary for what is considered a full-time position is $97,408. Board members are paid $43,018.
In District 12, Parekh deflected challenger Dalkin’s assertions that he missed too many meetings and was not known in the community. Much has been accomplished but there is more to be done and he is eager to continue addressing critical issues such as affordable housing and climate change, Parekh said.
Knizhnik, a gun violence and public policy advocate, said she sought reelection to be a strong voice for District 18 communities. Sofronas, a Kildeer resident and marketing and analytics consultant, targeted what he called wasteful spending.
In District 2, future improvements at Lakewood Forest Preserve were among the priorities for both Schlick, a battalion chief for the Wauconda Fire District, and Winiarz, a writer and project manager.
In District 5, Hunter also has had extensive public involvement and wanted to continue. Conway, has served on the Lake Villa Elementary District 41 school board for 17 years and the last 12 as president said he wanted to transition to a different type of elected service.
The Lake County Clerk’s office reported a record-breaking early voting cycle with 131,925 ballots cast early for the 2024 General Election compared with the previous high of 124,041 in 2020. There are 450,498 registered voters in Lake County.