Bush leading Kasperski in state Senate 31 race

Early results in the 31st District Illinois state Senate race show Democratic incumbent Melinda Bush leading Republican challenger Christopher Kasperski by more than 8,000 votes.

Early, unofficial results show Bush with 43,900 votes and Kasperski with 35,530.

Those tallies do not include mail-in ballots that have yet to arrive. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted if they arrive by Nov. 17.

Bush, of Grayslake, is seeking her third term in the Senate and has praised Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 response and said he was correct to enact measures to remediate the spread of the virus.

Kasperski, of Lindenhurst, is a retired Army engineer who was critical of Pritzker and complained the governor had overstepped his authority by prolonging emergency declarations Kasperski described as “abnormal and absurd.”

The 31st District includes most of the northern half of Lake County, including Antioch, Gurnee, Grayslake, Zion, the Round Lake area, parts of Wauconda and other towns.