Newcomer Pope set to join two incumbents on District 121 school board

A pair of incumbents appear to have secured reelection to four-year terms on the Gurnee-based Warren Township High School District 121 school board, according to unofficial results late Tuesday night.

Steve Carlson and Tony DeMonte received 2,058 and 1,817 votes, respectively, making them the second- and third-highest vote-getters in the race for three board seats.

Newcomer Beth Pope led all candidates with 2,531 votes.

Lynn Ulrich, Marc Piszkiewicz, and Mercedes Schackleford rounded out the field with 1,352 votes, 1,092 votes and 756 votes, respectively.

During an online interview with the Daily Herald, Carlson criticized Ulrich for social media posts she'd made that referred to the "staging" of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. DeMonte, Piszkiewicz and Pope also were critical of Ulrich.

"I just don't think there's any room on a board for anyone who ... can't deal in reality, because when you are not dealing in reality you just can't make effective leadership decisions," Pope said.

The results in Lake County Tuesday night included ballots cast on Election Day as well as the ballots cast during early voting and all the vote-by-mail ballots the county clerk's office received before Tuesday. Provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day will be included in the official total, which is expected to be certified in about two weeks.