A few intraparty fights on tap in key Lake County legislature races
Based on the first two days of candidate filing, a few intraparty showdowns are in the offing for Lake County seats in the General Assembly.
All state House and Senate seats are up for election this year. The filing period for the June 28 primary began Monday.
Two Democrats have filed so far to succeed Democratic state Sen. Melinda Bush, who is not running for reelection in the 31st District. Sam Yingling of Grayslake, who has represented the 62nd House District since 2013, and Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville, who represented the 51st House District for one term before narrowly losing her 2020 reelection bid to Republican Chris Bos of Lake Zurich, will face off in the primary. Republican Adam Solano of Third Lake also filed Monday.
Three Democrats have filed to replace Yingling in the 62nd House District: Laura Faver Dias of Grayslake, Thomas Maillard of Waukegan and Terry Wilke of Round Lake Beach. Republican Adam Shores of Grayslake is the lone member of his party to file so far.
Dias and Shores both serve on the Grayslake village board, though Shores said he will resign April 1 because he's moving his family to Libertyville. Maillard is director of government operations for the city of Waukegan. Wilke has represented Lake County Board District 16 for 14 years, doubling as Avon Township supervisor for four of them.
Two Democrats have filed to try to unseat Republican Chris Bos in the 51st House District. Nabeela Syed of Inverness and Chelsea Laliberte Barnes of Palatine both filed on Monday. Syed works for a nonprofit in digital strategy and has experience as a community organizer. Laliberte Barnes is a social worker. Bos also filed candidacy paperwork and is the only Republican to have done so in the race.
In the 26th Senate District, Republican Senate Leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods and Democratic challenger Maria Peterson of North Barrington filed nominating petitions Monday. Peterson is a newcomer to state politics. She ran in 2018 for the District 17 seat on the Lake County Board, losing to Republican Michael Danforth by about 650 votes.
In the 52nd House District, incumbent Martin McLaughlin, a Barrington Hills Republican, and Democratic challenger Mary Morgan of Island Lake filed on Monday. Morgan works in the curriculum and instruction office for Wauconda Unit District 118.
In the 61st House District, incumbent Joyce Mason, a Gurnee Democrat, and Republican challenger Peter Pettorini of Lindenhurst have filed to run. Pettorini is an English teacher at Round Lake High School and was elected in 2021 to the Millburn Elementary District 24 board.
Incumbent Republicans Steven Reick and Tom Weber, who represent the 63rd and 64th House districts, respectively, currently are the only candidates of either party who've filed in their races. Reick, who is from Woodstock, has represented the district since 2017. Weber, who is from Lake Villa, has represented the district since 2019.
The deadline for petition filing is 5 p.m. Monday, March 14.
Though usually held in March, the primary this year was pushed back to June because the pandemic delayed the release of the 2020 census data. The general election is Nov. 8.