Lauzen wins bid for Kane County Treasurer

Former Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen will head back to county government ­­- this time as county treasurer.

With all 292 precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals show Lauzen, an Aurora Republican, with 79,570 votes. His opponent, Democrat Jeffrey Pripusich, had 72,324 votes.

Michael Kilbourne, who was appointed county treasurer in 2021, did not seek election.

During the campaign, Lauzen, who served as Kane County Board chairman from 2012 to 2020 and spent 20 years in the state Senate, said he would increase the county's return on investment by $2 million by putting the county's reserves in better-yielding funds. Pripusich questioned whether Lauzen's proposal was feasible and would actually yield $2 million.

Lauzen, 69, also campaigned on his experience, noting he is a certified public accountant and ran a small accounting and tax firm for 10 years.

During the campaign, Pripusich said he would not serve more than three, 4-year terms if voters backed him. Lauzen would not say if he would seek a second term, but did say the county treasurer's office was not a way back to the county board chairman's post.

"I've done that," he said.

Pripusich, 62, of North Aurora said there was "room for improvement" in the treasurer's office, but he would not come into office to dictate immediate changes. Rather, he would take time to review policies and get staff input. Pripusich also focused on his professional experience, noting he would bring to the office 37 years of corporate accounts receivable, including 25 years in management.