Only 116 votes separate DuPage forest preserve president candidates

Two weeks after Election Day, it's still one of the closest countywide contests in DuPage's recent history - and it may not be decided any time soon.

Unofficially, just 116 votes separate Democratic challenger Daniel Hebreard and Republican incumbent Joseph Cantore in the race for president of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

On the night of the election, unofficial results showed Cantore ahead by more than 3,400 votes. But Hebreard has gained ground since vote-by-mail ballots began coming in, leaving the final result in doubt.

As of Monday night, Hebreard clung to a 116-vote lead with 177,185 votes, around 50.02 percent of the unofficial total. Cantore had 177,069 votes, around 49.98 percent of the unofficial total.

The DuPage County Election Commission counted nearly 300 vote-by-mail ballots on Monday. Suzanne Fahnestock, the commission's executive director, said Tuesday is the deadline for additional vote-by-mail ballots to arrive.

Also on Tuesday, the commission will complete its review of roughly 1,800 provisional ballots, Fahnestock said. Provisional ballots that are found to be valid then will be counted.

DuPage's election results won't become official until Nov. 27.

Then it will be up to the candidates to decide if they want to move to the next step.

By law, up to 25 percent of the precincts in a particular race can be examined as part of a partial recount called a discovery. The discovery recount is done to help candidates determine if a court order should be sought to get a complete recount.

Neither Cantore nor Hebreard returned messages on Monday.

Cantore, who lives in Oak Brook, served on the forest preserve board of commissioners for 12 years before being elected president in 2014. Hebreard, who is from Woodridge, is a senior ranger with the district.

Hebreard campaigned on promises to better allocate the district's resources and to improve a commission that he said lacks transparency and the ability to function properly. His promises ranged from the everyday - providing more flush toilets in preserves, for example - to broader topics such as becoming a leader in the use of green technologies.

Cantore based his campaign on a track record that includes restoration work at the Preserve at Oak Meadows and St. James Farm Forest Preserve; construction of a fleet maintenance building at Blackwell Forest Preserve and a vehicular bridge at McDowell Grove Forest Preserve; and increased cooperation among government entities to hold down costs.