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ROCKFORD — Voters across Illinois went to the polls on Tuesday to pick the state’s governor, members of Congress and the state General Assembly, and local offices such as county board.
Here’s a look at key contested races for the Rockford-area, including the top-of-ballot statewide races.
Results are unofficial, and some mail in ballots may not have been counted in Tuesday’s results. By law, a ballot post-marked by Nov. 8 can still be counted before the election is certified two weeks from Tuesday.
Election officials for both the city and the county said they are calculating how many mail-in ballots could potentially be returned.
Pritzker wins second term
Gov. JB Pritzker cruised to victory over challenger Darren Bailey, with the Associated Press calling the race for the sitting governor shortly after 7 p.m. when polls closed.
With 90% of votes counted, Pritzker had about 54% of the vote on Tuesday to defeat the first-term state senator from southern Illinois.
Sorensen declares victory in 17th District U.S. House
Democrat Eric Sorensen declared victory early Wednesday morning over Republican challenger Esther Joy King, according to NPR. Although the race was still too close for either The Associated Press or New York Times to call the race.
The New York Times estimates that Sorensen will win with about 93% of the vote in. King called Sorensen to concede Wednesday morning.
93% of votes in
Esther Joy King (R): 48.3% (106,693)
Eric Sorensen (D): 51.7% (114,210)
Source: New York Times
LaHood wins in 16th District U.S. House
Republican Darin LaHood won reelection Tuesday with more than 66% of the vote, according to New York Times’ projections. Here’s where the race stood with nearly 80% of votes counted.
Darin LaHood (R): 66.5% (155,077)
Elizabeth “Lisa” Haderlein (D): 33.5% (77,987)
Duckworth wins reelection in U.S. Senate
Democrat Tammy Duckworth won a second term on Tuesday, defeating lawyer Kathi Salvi, a Republican who beat six competitors in the June primary, according to the Associated Press.
Tammy Duckworth (D): 59%
Kathi Salvi (R): 39%
Bill Redpath (L): 2%
Constitutional amendement
A measure that would guarantee workers the right to organize a union and collectively bargain appears to be on its way to passage with 90% of votes totaled.
90% of votes in
Yes: 58.7% (1,927,678)
No: 41.3% (1,354,599)
Stadelman wins reelection in 34th District
Steve Stadelman, a Democrat from Loves Park, won reelection over Republican challenger Juan Reyes. Stadelman, the former television news anchor, was first elected to the state Senate in 2013.
Steve Stadelman (D): 58.22% (29,322)
Juan Reyes (R): 41.69 (20,290)
Chesney wins Illinois State Senate District 45
State Rep. Andrew Chesney, a Republican from Freeport, defeated Galena Democrat Gerald Podraza to earn a seat in the state Senate, according to the Associated Press. Here are the results with more than 96% of ballots counted:
Andrew Chesney (R): 64.40% (51,638)
Gerald Podraza (D): 33.60% (26,139)
West wins reelection in Illinois House District 67
State Rep. Maurice West, a Rockford Democrat, defeated Republican Glen Oland to earn a second term in office. West first took office Jan. 9, 2019.
Maurice West II (D): 55.87% (10,960)
Glen Oland (R): 44.13% (8,657)
Vella reelected in Illinois House District 68
State Rep. Dave Vella, a Loves Park Democrat, won reelection over Republican Jonathan Ojeda. Vella assumed office Jan. 13, 2021, and was elected for a second term.
Ojeda released a statement Tuesday night congratulating Vella on the victory:
“I ran for state representative to present voters with a vision of fiscal responsibility and a new direction,” he said. “Although we fell short tonight, I am proud of the issues we raised. Thank you to the residents who took the time to talk with me at their doors and to our volunteers and supporters. Congratulations to Rep. Vella on his victory.”
Dave Vella (D): 54.38 (15,688)
Jonathan Ojeda (R): 45.62% (13,160)
Sosnowski reelected Illinois House District 69
State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, a Republican from Rockford, cruised to reelection over Peter Janko. Sosnowski has been a member of the state House since January 2011.
Joe Sosnowski (R): 62.85% (23,628)
Peter Janko (D): 37.15% (13,971)
Schultz defeats incumbent Winnebago County treasurer
Winnebago County Treasuer Sue Goral’s 22-year run at the helm of the office will come to an end if preliminary results hold over the next two weeks. Steve Schultz, a Republican Winnebago County Board member, holds about 52% of the vote to defeat Goral, according to unofficial totals.
Steve Schultz (R): 51.64% (35,889)
Susan Goral (D): 48.36% (33,612)
Muraski elected Winnebago County coroner
Winnebago County Coroner Jennifer Muraski, who was appointed to the role in mid-August after coroner Bill Hintz resigned after pleading guilty to theft and misconduct chargers, handily won election over Democratic challenger Tony Gasparini.
Jennifer Muraski (R): 58.58% (40,665)
Tony Gasparini (D): 41.42% (28,754)
Winnebago County Board
Republicans maintained their control over the Winnebago County Board on Tuesday, although Democrats did pick up one additional seat, according to preliminary election results.
Eight of the 20 Winnebago County Board districts had contested races, and Democrats and Republicans split those races.
The closest race was between Republican Burt Gerl, an incumbent former Democrat who changed parties, and Christopher Scrol in District 15. Scrol edged Gerl by 52 votes, according to preliminary results. However, that expanded to 78 after more mail-in ballots came in Wednesday. He will replace Gerl on the board if the results hold when results are certified in two weeks.
Eight of the 12 uncontested races went to Republicans, and Democrats got the other four uncontested seats.
District 2
Jim Webster (R): 64.48% (3,535)
Lindsey Lancaster (D): 35.52% (1,947)
District 5
Dave Tassoni (D): 51.71% (1,811)
Teena Newburg (R): 48.29 (1,691)
District 6
Keith McDonald (R): 55.5% (2,482)
Richard Kennedy (D): 44.5% (1,990)
District 10
Joe Hoffman (D): 58.3% (1,872)
David Peyton (R): 41.7% (1,339)
District 15
Christopher Scrol (D): 51.24% (1,616)
Burt Gerl (R): 48.76% (1,538)
District 17
Michael Thompson (R): 56.84% (1,437)
Bryan Amezquita (D): 43.16% (1,091)
District 19
Angela Fellars (D): 53.63% (2,536)
Doug Mark (R): 46.37% (2,193)
District 20
John F. Sweeney (R): 57.79% (2,248)
Kathleen Dingle (D): 42.21% (1,642)