Burns wins 6th term, but other Fox Valley mayors appear ousted

It was a rough night for some longtime mayors in the Fox Valley, with at least three of them likely losing their seats.Michael Reid Jr. beat four-term incumbent Jeff Magnussen in Hampshire, Jeff Lynam defeated two-term mayor Lael Miller in East Dundee, and Jennifer Konen walloped 21-year mayor Sean Michels in Sugar Grove.The results are unofficial and could change with the addition of remaining mail-in ballots, which could trickle in as late as April 20.As of Tuesday, Kane County overall had received 2,851 completed ballots out of 5,778 it mailed out while DuPage County had received 12,120 of 19,161. In McHenry County, 460 of the 734 mail-in ballots had been returned to the county, so it’s unlikely those numbers will change too many races.GenevaKevin Burns won a sixth term as Geneva mayor.In a rematch from the 2017 election, Burns led former alderman Tom Simonian by 6 percentage points, 2,434 votes to 2,136, with all 19 precincts reporting.”Having endured a vicious, vindictive and vitriolic assault on me and my family, this evening’s victory is particularly sweet,” Burns said. “I look forward to continue serving all of Geneva and working with our professional staff, elected officials and scores of volunteers.”The 2021 rematch played on many of the same themes as the 2017 election, which Burns won with 62 percent of the vote. Simonian declared that being the mayor of Geneva should be looked upon as the job of a lifetime rather than a lifetime job. It’s a job Burns has held for 20 years.AuroraAurora Mayor Richard Irvin managed to stave off hard-fought challenges from two determined opponents, catapulting his way to a second term with an apparent victory Tuesday. Unofficial results showed the incumbent with 6,825 votes, compared to 2,918 cast for Judd Lofchie and 2,583 for John Laesch, with all precincts reporting in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties.After four years of prioritizing economic development in the state’s second-largest city, Irvin told the Daily Herald he plans to “double down and take it to the next level” if reelected.His administration has touted a “direct, proactive approach” to attracting new businesses and spurring redevelopment, often by building relationships and through the use of incentives — a point of opposition among both candidates vying to unseat him. But 51-year-old Irvin, who previously served 10 years on the council as alderman at-large, has been quick to admonish their allegations of pay-to-play politics, saying his economic initiatives have produced tangible results.St. CharlesLora Vitek, a 4th Ward alderman, beat 5th Ward Alderman Maureen Lewis to become St. Charles’ second female mayor.”I’m beyond excited,” Vitek said. “I’ve worked really hard for this. I think people are excited about what’s happened in recent years and they like what they see in St. Charles and want to see more of it.”Alderman Maureen Lewis called her to offer her congratulations. “I respect Maureen greatly,” Vitek said.Lewis served on the city council for 10 years, while Vitek was elected in 2017.HuntleyLongtime incumbent Chuck Sass held a 12-vote lead over two-term Trustee Tim Hoeft late Tuesday night.Hoeft was Sass’ his first challenge in 20 years. While it appears he scraped by with the win, there might be some mail-in votes to be counted.”We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Sass said. “We’ll have to wait and see if anything else is out there, so we’re not declaring anything at all.”