Decision Day: Here are some races to watch when the polls close Tuesday

When the polls close Tuesday night, most political junkies and partisans will turn their gaze to Washington, D.C., to watch how the battle for control of Congress plays out.

But closer to home, several suburban contests — along with a handful of tax-hike referendums — also bear close watching when the results come in. Here’s a look at some of the races to monitor when the counting begins:

8th Congressional District

One of two mostly suburban Congressional seats without an incumbent — the other is the neighboring 9th District — the contest matches candidates who were latecomers to their party primaries.

Democrat Melissa Bean of Barrington and Republican Jennifer Davis of Huntley won their parties’ nominations by playing more to the political center than their more conservative and progressive opponents.

They’re running to succeed U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, the moderate Democrat and former businessman who’s held the seat for a decade. He chose not to seek reelection, and instead mounted an unsuccessful bid to replace the retiring Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate.

Bean touts her experience and accomplishments from when she held the 8th District seat between 2005 and 2011. Davis argues her experience as a business owner prepares her to find practical solutions to the nation’s issues.

The 8th District includes portions of northwestern Cook County, as well as north central DuPage and northern Kane counties.

The other open seat is in the 9th District, where Democratic Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Republican John Elleson, a pastor from Arlington Heights, hope to replace the retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

The 9th District stretches between Chicago’s North Shore and the Crystal Lake area, encompassing parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

26th state Senate/52nd state House

Two of the most hotly legislative races in Illinois cover much of the same geography. And in both cases, Democrats are hoping to turn seats long-held by Republicans from red to blue.

In the 26th state Senate District, Republican Darby Hills of Barrington Hills is being challenged by Inverness Democrat Nabeela Syed. Hills was appointed to the seat last year, while. Syed is a two-term state representative for the 51st District.

And in the 52nd state House District, which covers the western half of the Senate District, veteran Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills is being challenged for the second consecutive cycle by North Barrington Democrat Maria Peterson.

Peterson lost the first showdown by a mere 47 votes.

Both challengers have received significant financial and promotional help from local and statewide Democratic organizations as well as from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who stumped for them in the final days of the campaign.

Cook County Board District 17

Republicans hold just one of 17 seats on the Cook County Board, and keeping it will require voters to embrace their past.

Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman of Orland Park is running the win back the District 17 seat she held from 2002 to 2015. She hopes to succeed fellow Republican Sean Morrison, who replaced Gorman when she stepped down in 2015, and is not seeking another term.

Gorman faces Democratic Lyons Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg, whose campaign has been overshadowed by the release of security camera footage from her office showing her briefly kissing Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek.

The 17th District is concentrated in the South suburbs, but stretches north along the western edge of the county into Northwest suburbs, including parts of Elk Grove and Maine townships.

Kane County sheriff

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain’s decision not to seek reelection — made before his abrupt leave of absence and eventual retirement this year — sets up a contest between his longtime second-in-command and the county’s former coroner.

Undersheriff Amy Johnson, a Democrat from Sugar Grove, faces Republican Rob Russell from Hampshire.

Russell was the county’s coroner for 12 years and a retired DuPage County sheriff’s deputy. He currently works as a police officer for Harper College in Palatine.

Johnson has spent 23 years with the sheriff’s office, starting as an intern, then becoming a civilian evidence technician, then a deputy. She’s served as interim sheriff since Hain took leave in April.

School District 214

The first referendum in 55 years for the state’s second-largest high school district asks voters to approve borrowing to fund renovations to aging school buildings in the Northwest suburbs.

Arlington Heights-based Northwest Suburban High School District 214 officials are seeking $295 million in new bonding authority for facilities projects at six schools, from mechanicals and classroom spaces to infrastructure and safety/security.

If the measure is approved, it would mean a yearly tax increase of $218 for the owner of a home valued at $500,000, officials estimate.

Critics have wondered how building maintenance needs and costs have added up over the years, and some have accused district leaders of fiscal mismanagement.

But school officials note the district has spent nearly $200 million on repairs over the last decade, from roof replacements to heating and cooling system upgrades. They frame the $295 million ask as “scaled back” and “narrowed” from a 2022 facilities assessment that identified some $850 million in potential upgrades.

Lake County sales tax

Lake County voters will determine whether to add sales tax of up to 1% to fund building projects, resource officers and mental health professionals for local schools.

Supporters and opponents of the measure have been knocking on doors and sending mailers to make their case.

Advocates say chronic underfunding of schools has left many districts unable to repair classrooms and buildings. Because more than 52% of purchases in the county are made by people who live outside Lake, they say, the tax would help schools without imposing the entire burden on local residents.

Opponents, including the Lake County Republican Central Committee and the Barrington Area Council of Governments, contend residents already are facing rising costs and a sales tax increase would be another burden.

Staff writers Eric Peterson, Russell Lissau, Charles Keeshan, Susan Sarkauskas, Christopher Placek and Mick Zawislak contributed to this story.