Cantore seeks partial recount in forest preserve race

Daniel Hebreard led his first meeting as president of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County this week, but the race that put the Woodridge Democrat in that post technically isn't over.

Republican Joseph Cantore of Oak Brook has requested a partial recount of the official results from the Nov. 6 election that show Hebreard defeating him by 702 votes.

On the night of the election, unofficial results showed Cantore, the incumbent, ahead by more than 3,400 votes. But Hebreard, a senior forest preserve ranger at the time, gained ground as vote-by-mail ballots came in.

The final vote total, which became official last week, showed Hebreard with 178,375 votes and Cantore with 177,673.

This week, however, Cantore asked that up to 25 percent of the precincts countywide be examined as part of a partial recount called a discovery.

A discovery is conducted to help candidates determine if there are enough discrepancies to seek a court order for a complete recount.

The DuPage County Election Commission is scheduled to begin the discovery recount on Tuesday morning.

Suzanne Fahnestock, the commission's executive director, said the recount will involve 233 precincts. The hope is that the work will be completed by Dec. 21.

"If it takes longer, we're going to have to finish after we get back from Christmas," she said.

Attempts to reach Cantore and his attorney were unsuccessful.

Hebreard declined to comment on Wednesday.

Election commission officials said the agency has had nearly 30 discovery recounts over the past 20 years, but none has resulted in a full recount.

Cantore served on the forest preserve board of commissioners for 12 years before being elected president in 2014. Hebreard won in his first race for elected office.