Three incumbents cruise in Wheeling trustee race

Three incumbent Wheeling trustees appear to be headed back to their seats, early returns show.

With 12 of 19 precincts reporting, Joe Vito tallied 713 votes, Dave Vogel had 673 and Ray Lang had 643, according to unofficial results.

Finishing behind them were Maryann Rodriguez Liguori with 342; Asher Horcher, the daughter of Village President Pat Horcher, with 311; and Deborah Wilson, a longtime village board critic, with 285, the results show.

The race initially focused on issues like Chicago Executive Airport runway expansion, which nearly all the candidates opposed, pension obligations and tax increment financing districts.

But the campaign took an unusual twist in its waning days, when the five sitting village trustees wrote a letter to the Daily Herald harshly critical of Wilson. The letter cited Wilson's legal disputes with her former employer, Des Plaines Elementary District 62, and questioned her fitness to serve on the village board.

Wilson responded that the litigation between her and the school district was "based upon fraudulent claims" and has no bearing on her ability to serve as a village trustee.