Races set for Palatine council, but no contests in Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg

Residents in three Northwest Cook County communities can cross a municipal primary election off their calendars.

There will be no primaries in Palatine, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates on Feb. 23 because not enough candidates filed to make them necessary before the April 6 election.

Palatine will have contested races in two village council districts.

In District 2, Melissa Ortega is challenging incumbent Scott Lamerand, while Deanna Santman is taking on council member Kollin Kozlowski in District 5.

Council member Doug Myslinski is running unopposed for re-election in District 3.

In Schaumburg, Mayor Tom Dailly has no challenger in his bid for a third term. He will be joined on the ballot only by incumbent trustees Brian Bieschke, Michael LaRosa and Mark Madej, along with Village Clerk Jane Lentino.

LaRosa is seeking election for the first time, having been appointed to fill the unexpired term of George Dunham, a longtime trustee who stepped down at the end of 2024.

Hoffman Estates also has an uncontested ballot with incumbent trustees Anna Newell, Gary Pilafas and Gary Stanton seeking re-election. The village’s mayor and clerk won’t be up for election until 2029, along with the other three trustees.

The three villages are rare among Northwest Cook County suburbs in carrying the potential for a February primary if a large number of candidates file nominating petitions.

A primary is triggered if the number of candidates exceeds four times the number of seats for any office. The primary would pare the field below that threshold for the April 6 election.

For municipalities and other local governments without a potential primary, the candidate filing period is from Nov. 16 through Nov. 23. The deadline to register as a write-in candidate is Thursday, Feb. 4.

szalusky@dailyherald.com; epeterson@dailyherald.com