Races to watch Tuesday in Kane County

With many of the most heated rivalries in Kane County politics occurring within the two major parties instead of between them, much of the drama in this season's batch of local elections will dissolve after Tuesday's primaries.

And while most voters will come out for the presidential contests at the top of the ballot, there are plenty of contests down the ticket that will make an impact on the future of Kane County government during the next four years.

Here's a look at some of the hottest local races on the ballot:

<h3 class="leadin">County Board Chairman

The Republican primary will likely determine the next chairman as Democrats haven't yet fielded a candidate. The GOP contest pits incumbent Chris Lauzen against St. Charles Republican Party Chairman Ken Shepro. Lauzen is a former state senator. Shepro was the county board attorney under former Chairman Karen McConnaughay.

Lauzen is running on his record of the past three years. That tenure includes a frozen property tax levy and budget surpluses every year. Lauzen has several ideas to generate new nonproperty tax income for the county to extend the tax freeze. But all those plans will require overcoming legal hurdles.

Shepro wants to at least consider reducing the tax levy on the theory the recent surpluses indicate the county doesn't need all the money it collects. However, he's also said he would consider unfreezing the levy to account for new construction if the county reaches a point where it needs more money.

Shepro has lobbed allegations of hypocrisy at Lauzen. He believes Lauzen has failed to deliver on promises of ethics reform and anti-cronyism. He points to thousands of dollars in campaign contributions Lauzen has received from people who do business with the county as evidence. Lauzen has denied any pay-to-play approach to the office.

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Coroner

If there's a sense of déjà vu when you see this race on your ballot, it's because every candidate in the campaign has run for the same office in the past. Only one of them has been successful.

The Republican side features a rematch from 2012. Incumbent Coroner Rob Russell seeks validation of his budget battles with the county board in seeking a second term. Russell believes the work of the office has been undervalued as well as underbudgeted for years as a result of flawed leadership by his predecessor.

Russell's GOP opponent, Bob Tiballi, believes the flawed leadership continues with Russell. He points to the budget battles with the county board as proof Russell doesn't have the management skills or business acumen to run the office, especially with a tight budget.

On the Democrat side, Tao Martinez is back on the ballot after a failed run four years ago. Martinez wants to bring his experience running an emergency response business to the office. He has a plan to divide the office staff into three shifts and eliminate or reduce overtime and per diem payments to the deputy coroners. Martinez believes the office's budget must be segregated between operation and administrative costs to provide a clear picture of the office's needs versus wants.

His Democratic opponent is Aurora Township Highway Commissioner John Shoemaker. He believes his nursing background and more than a decade of experience putting together budgets in the township are the perfect combination to lead the coroner's office. Shoemaker had an unsuccessful run for the office against former Coroner Chuck West.

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22nd Illinois Senate District

With state Sen. Michael Noland seeking a seat in Congress, Kane County Board member Cristina Castro, 37, of Elgin, and Steve Caramelli, a 39-year-old Illinois state trooper and Hanover Township trustee, are running in the Democratic primary for his 22nd District post.

Castro says she participated in balancing a nearly $280 million county budget that kept property taxes flat for five years. Caramelli says he's proud of his contributions to the township board, which opted out of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund fund two years ago.

The 22nd District is in Kane and Cook counties and includes portions of Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Streamwood and South Elgin.

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66th House District

Carolyn Schofield, Allen Skillicorn and Dan Wilbrandt are vying for the 2-year seat being vacated by incumbent Republican Mike Tryon, who is not seeking another term.

Paul Serwatka of Lakewood, has withdrawn from the race yet his name will appear on Tuesday's ballot.

Schofield, 43, is a former Crystal Lake council member and current McHenry County Board member. Skillicorn, 41, is an East Dundee village trustee. Wilbrandt is a West Dundee trustee and assistant state's attorney in McHenry County.

During the campaign, the candidates said they support term limits for representatives between eight years and 12 years and shifting public employees to self-managed, 401K-type systems to address the state's pension liability crisis.

The primary winner will face Democrat Nancy Zettler of Algonquin in November.

The district includes portions of Kane and McHenry counties, including Algonquin, Carpentersville, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Elgin, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood, Sleepy Hollow and West Dundee.

<h3 class="leadin">Sleepy Hollow referendum

Sleepy Hollow officials are seeking a 33 percent property tax increase, which would bring in about $180,000 in additional revenue each year.

If voters approve the increase, the owner of a house with an assessed value of $200,000 would pay $132 more annually.

The additional revenue would go toward the village's general fund, as well as road improvements and a depleting five-year capital fund, which is used for long-term expenses and purchases.

This will be the third time the bedroom community has asked its more than 3,300 residents for a property tax hike in two years. Voters shot down an 82 percent increase in April 2015, and a similar request was denied in November 2014.

Daily Herald staff writers Elena Ferrarin, Lauren Rohr and Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this story.