Some Naperville, Lisle, Villa Park and Downers Grove incumbents lose reelection bids

Voters on Tuesday put three new people on the Naperville City Council and gave a longtime Aurora alderman another four years to help run the second-largest city in the state, according to unofficial results.

And in Lisle, Villa Park and Downers Grove, some incumbents lost their seats.

County clerks won't declare official results until April 21, as they wait for provisional votes, grace-period votes and outstanding vote-by-mail ballots to arrive.

Naperville

Three newcomers and one incumbent appear to have won an 11-person race for four seats on the Naperville City Council.

With 99% of precincts reporting in DuPage County and all 24 precincts counted in Will County, unofficial results show newcomers Ian Holzhauer with 8,727 votes, Paul Leong with 7,465 votes and Jennifer Bruzan Taylor with 7,352 votes along with incumbent Benjamin White's 8,502 votes.

Newcomer Allison Longenbaugh, who has 6,985 votes, was in fifth place.

The only other incumbent in the race, John Krummen, finished in seventh place with 6,046 votes.

Only two incumbents sought reelection, while council members Kevin Coyne and Judy Brodhead did not.

One of the issues all candidates agreed was a high priority was the need for more affordable housing, as the city has fallen short of the state-mandated 10 percent required. They had different ideas on how to get there.

Aurora

Longtime Aurora 7th Ward Alderman Scheketa Hart-Burns defeated challenger Saul Fultz III, according to unofficial vote totals in Kane and DuPage counties.

Hart-Burns, who has been on the council since 1991, had 446 votes, to Fultz's 354.

She cited her record, including being aggressive about having "problem properties" removed by the city, having a ward advisory committee, her service on the council's finance committee and organizing events to help her constituents, such as her annual Back-to-School Fair.

Fultz grew up in Aurora and left after high school. He served in the military and worked in Mississippi and Wisconsin, including as a minister.

In Ward 10 on the city's southeast side, Shweta Baid defeated Arjun S. Nair, 1,316 votes to 666, for the seat held by Judd Lofchie, who did not seek reelection. Lofchie ran unsuccessfully for mayor.

Baid touted skills developed running her computer consulting business and through her volunteer work with her children's schools and other nonprofit organizations. Nair called for the city to investigate green-energy initiatives, wants all new police and fire department workers to live in the city and favors having some residents elected rather than appointed to the new police civilian review board.

The race for the alderman-at-large seat was bruising, as candidate Raymond Hull tried to get opponent Ron Woerman kicked off the ballot, saying Woerman didn't really live in Aurora.

But Woerman won, with 4,038 votes. Brooke Shanley received 3,870 votes, and Hull 3,343, according to unofficial results from DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties.

Woerman admitted, at an electoral board hearing in January, that his wife and children hadn't moved yet to Aurora, and that he had been spending many of his nights at the couple's Oswego residence. Shanley also criticized Woerman over the residency issue.

Hull also criticized Woerman for his membership in the development company that is receiving as much as $3 million from the city to redevelop the former Rush-Copley Hospital site on the city's east side. Woerman, who owns a restaurant and other properties, said he would recuse himself from votes on any projects with which he is involved.

In Ward 4, incumbent William Donnell defeated John Bell, 701 votes to 304. Donnell has been an alderman since 2013.

Second Ward Alderman Juany Garza was unopposed.

Villa Park

Whether the top vote-getter in Villa Park will get to take office remains to be seen.

John Kozar, who received 1,663 votes, owns Fuel, a bar, in Villa Park. Village ordinances prohibit village trustees from having liquor licenses for establishments in town.

Kozar said during the campaign that he would recuse himself from all discussions and votes on liquor-license matters.

The other two elected were Deepasriya Kumar and John "Jack" Corkery.

The only incumbent who ran, Cheryl Tucker, lost, coming in fourth.

Kozar, who is also a lawyer, said the village's ordinances regarding development were outdated and didn't reflect what current residents want. He sought exceptions to village code in January to add a rooftop deck to Fuel, and permission for outdoor entertainment. Tucker voted with the majority to deny the expansion and put time limits on the entertainment.

Lisle

Incumbent Lisle Trustee Marie Hasse lost her seat, as Mary Jo Mullen, Thomas Duffy and Dan Grecco were in the lead, with 93 percent of the vote counted.

Mullen is currently the Lisle Township supervisor, with a term ending April 30. She ran on the Be Lisle (Lisle Forward) slate with Duffy and David Richter, who came in sixth in the seven-person race.

Itasca

Incumbents Jeffrey Aiani and newcomer Patrick Powers each received 804 votes, and incumbent Frank Madaras with 773, to win election.

Carol Stream

Incumbents Rick Gieser (1,652 votes), and Matt McCarthy (1,545 votes) appear to have been reelected. Jeff Berger was elected to the third seat, with 1,237 votes, according to unofficial DuPage County records.

Oakbrook Terrace

Frank Vlach was reelected to his Ward 2 seat, with almost 45 percent of the vote.