Will County incumbent Democrats were leading Republicans in various countywide offices Tuesday evening with 260 out of 310 precincts reporting.
Democratic candidates jumped out to an early lead Tuesday. About 54% of voters who voted early or by mail, which were reported first, cast ballots for Democrats in the countywide races, according to unofficial results from the Will County clerk’s office.
Incumbent Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Shorewood Democrat seeking a second term as county executive, had 53% of the unofficial vote while Republican candidate Charles “Chuck” Maher of Naperville had 46% with about 84% of the votes reported
Bertino-Tarrant said she was wanted to continue her work to improve public safety, ensure the county remains the best in the state for job creation and collaborate with the Veterans Assistance Commission to bring a new veterans-centric campus to Joliet.
Maher, a former County Board member, said he was returning to county politics because of concerns about an inflated budget and the executive’s office not listening to the will of the County Board. He said when Bertino-Tarrant vetoed a resolution that stopped a road widening project in Homer Glen, it showed she wasn’t listening to the board or the residents.
Maher said he wanted to reduce taxes, spread property taxes over four payments and attract more corporate headquarters to the county.
Coroner
Incumbent Coroner Laurie Summers had 54% of the unofficial total while Republican Robert Enright, a licensed funeral home director and embalmer and Plainfield Township Collector had 46% of the total.
Summers, a registered nurse and former Will County Board member, said her office helped deliver a new state-of-the-art county morgue and coroner’s office on time and on budget and has solved five cold cases that returned the remains to their families. She said her office works with a variety of county departments, including the sheriff’s and state’s attorney’s offices and emergency personnel.
Enright said he wanted to modernize operations, decrease response time to a death investigation scene and improve transparency. He said the coroner’s press releases often do not contain follow-up information on death investigations.
Summers said the releases are written so they would not jeopardize a police investigation or a prosecutor’s case.
Circuit court clerk
Incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Andrea Lynn Chasteen, a Frankfort Democrat, has 53% of the unofficial vote while challenger Republican Diane Harris of Joliet, has 47% of the vote.
Chasteen has 30 years experience in the court system and is seeking her third term. She said many ideas she has implemented has helped people navigate the court system. She is also digitizing old court records and piloting a program to use artificial intelligence to review pleadings in civil and family cases.
Harris is on the Joliet Junior College board and the Joliet Public Library board. She said she wants to make it easier for senior citizens to use the court system and said her background as a board member and small business owner would be an asset.
Recorder of deeds
Incumbent Recorder of Deeds Karen Stukel, a Democrat from Channahon seeking her fifth term, had 55% of the unofficial vote total while Mitchell had 45% with about 84% reporting.
Stukel is being challenged by Will County Board member Raquel Mitchell, a Republican from Bolingbrook.
Stukel is the current vice president of the Illinois Association of County Officials and has been past president of the Illinois Association of County Clerks and Recorders. Stukel is also in the process of starting an Illinois chapter for the Property Records Industry Association.
Mitchell said she wanted to bring new energy to the office and said not enough was being done to protect homeowners from potential fraud. Mitchell said she would also like to encourage more participation in veterans services and more visibility from the office in the community.
Auditor
Democrat Auditor Kevin “Duffy” Blackburn received 53% of the unofficial vote total while Republican James Buiter, the Crete Township clerk who last updated his campaign Facebook page in April, received 47%.
Blackburn, of Joliet, is a certified public accountant who also holds certifications as an information systems auditor and fraud examiner, is seeking his fifth term.
Blackburn said the county has the highest bond rating by S&P and Moody’s and the county is in a sound financial position.
County clerk
In the Will County clerk’s race, the only race to not feature an incumbent, Democrat Michelle Stiff of Joliet had nearly 52% of the vote and Republican Annette Parker of Crest Hill had 48% of the vote to serve for the remaining two years of former clerk Lauren Staley Ferry’s term.
Stiff is the president of the Joliet Township High School District 204 school board and director of the Workforce Center of Will County.
Parker is a Will County Board member, the president of the Forest Preserve District board and executive director of the Lockport Chamber of Commerce.
County Board
Residents in areas of Wheatland, DuPage, Joliet and Troy townships cast ballots for their County Board districts. Six seats in three districts were on the ballot for four-year terms, which could tip the political balance on the board.
Since 2022, the board has been split evenly with 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans with County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Democrat, breaking ties. Early results Tuesday anticipate that the board will still remain an 11 to 11 tie.
The board districts have staggered two- or four-year terms based on a random draw. This election voters chose representatives for Districts 6, 7 and 10 that includes areas of Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood, Aurora and Naperville.
In District 6, Democratic candidates Denise E. Winfrey, an incumbent and past president of the National Association of Counties, and former board member Herbert Brooks, Jr. were leading Republican Enrique Ruiz.
Ballots show 47% for Winfrey, 31% for Brooks and 21% for Ruiz in the Joliet district with all precincts reporting.
In District 7, which includes portions of Joliet, Plainfield and Shorewood, Democratic candidates Dawn L. Bullock and David Lozano were running against Republicans Vince Logan and Elizabeth (Betsy) Naglich. Logan, a retired teacher and police officer, is the sole incumbent in the race. Democrat Natalie Coleman of Plainfield did not seek reelection.
Preliminary vote totals show 30% for Bullock, 23% for Lozano, 24% for Logan and 22% for Naglich with all precincts reporting.
In District 10, which includes portions of Aurora and Naperville, three people were running including incumbents Meta Mueller, a Democrat, and Julie Berkowicz, a Republican, and Wheatland Township Trustee Kelly Hickey, a Democrat.
Vote totals show 37% for Hickey, 34% for Berkowicz and 29% for Mueller with 89% reporting.
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow was unopposed.
Winning candidates assume office Dec. 2.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.