Where early voting has begun in the suburbs, and where it'll start in the rest of them

Know who you're going to vote for in April already? The good news is you can head to the polls in some counties.

Early voting for the April election started Thursday in DuPage, Will and McHenry counties and will begin in March in other collar counties, including Lake and Kane, as well as suburban Cook.

Suburban voters will cast their ballots in mayoral, city council, school board, and park and library board races in April. Many voters also will decide local ballot questions.

In DuPage County, 69 voters showed up Thursday at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton to cast their ballots on the first day of early voting. The DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek's office also mailed out more than 73,000 mail-in ballots Thursday.

"Mayors, city councils and school boards are among the important local offices on the ballot in the consolidated election," Kaczmarek said in a news release about early voting. "I encourage voters to take advantage of the opportunity to have a say in how their own communities are governed."

Early voting in Will and McHenry counties is available at the Will County clerk's office in Joliet and the McHenry County Administration Building in Woodstock.

Early voting in Lake and Kane counties will start at the respective county clerk's offices on March 10. Suburban Cook County voters can vote early, starting March 20.

All counties will add a number of satellite locations for early voting two weeks before the April 4 elections.

Mail-in ballots can be requested through the county clerk's office and must be postmarked or placed in a ballot drop box by April 4 to be counted.

Information about early voting in DuPage County can be found at dupagecounty.gov. Early voting information for suburban Cook County can be found at cookcountyclerkil.gov.

Will County voters can find information about early voting at willcountyclerk.gov. Those voting in Kane County can find information about early voting at kanecountyclerk.org.

For information about early voting in Lake County, visit lakecountyil.gov. McHenry County voters can find information about early voting at mchenrycountyil.gov.