Gilliam concedes seat on Elgin City Council

Forty-year incumbent Robert Gilliam was most likely ousted from the Elgin City Council, according to unofficial vote results late Tuesday night.

Gilliam, 67, a retired educator who was first elected in 1973, trailed incumbent Richard Dunne by 62 votes for the fourth and final seat with all precincts reporting in Kane County and 11 of 13 precincts reporting in Cook County.

Incumbent John Prigge was the top vote-getter with 2,776 votes in that race, while newcomer Toby Shaw was the top vote-getter with 3,325 votes in the race for one, 2-year seat on the council.

Also in the race for four-year seats, Terry Gavin — who served on the council from 1995 to 1999 — had 2,400 votes, Carol Rauschenberger — who served as a trustee in Elgin Township — had 2,123 votes, and Dunne had 2,002 votes.

Prigge and Dunne were both first elected in 2009.

Craig Dresang, 50, came in second with 1,712 votes in the race for one, 2-year seat.

Gilliam’s campaign manager, Traci Ellis, said Gilliam conceded the race. “We acknowledge that we are probably done,” she said.

Ellis pinned Gilliam’s loss on the low voter turnout, and organized campaigning by the Elgin Octave group, whose name stands for “Operant Conditioning To Achieve Voter Expectations.” The group believes taxes and fees are too high in Elgin, and decried a proposed stormwater utility tax that might go into effect in 2014.

Gilliam had defended the council’s choices, saying it dealt efficiently with the recent economic crisis that faced the nation.

Gilliam was in the hospital following an asthma attack that had him in the intensive care unit for a couple of weeks. He got out of the ICU on Sunday, Ellis said.

“(Gilliam) intends to remain involved in this community that has given him so much and he loves so dearly,” Ellis said.

Also in the race for four-year seats were challengers Rosemarie Kahn, Jerri McCue, Grace Richard, Steven Knight, Cody Holt, Mitchell Esterino, Tom Armstrong and Andrew Cuming.