It appears the three incumbent Elgin City Council members running in Tuesday’s election will return to the dais, joined by one newcomer.
Voters had the choice between eight candidates seeking four, four-year council terms. The candidates were incumbents Steven Thoren, Dustin Good and Corey Dixon and challengers Maggie Beyer, Cecilia Ivana Brooks, Diana Alfaro, Erik Bosque Pena, Mark W. Smith, and Corey Dixon.
With all of the Cook County precinct votes counted and most from Kane County in, the unofficial results as of 9:40 p.m. are:
Maggie Beyer: 3,738 votes.
Steven Thoren: 3,990 votes.
Cecilia Ivana Brooks: 2,567 votes.
Diana Alfaro: 5,162 votes.
Dustin Good: 4,435 votes.
Erik Bosque Pena: 3,086 votes.
Mark W. Smith: 2,967 votes.
Corey D. Dixon: 4,909 votes.
Election results will remain unofficial until mail-in ballots postmarked for Election Day or earlier are counted, provisional ballots are checked and votes are canvassed.
Thoren, an Elgin native, is seeking a second term on the council. He previously served as an Elgin Township trustee. He is an Elgin Neighborhood Watch captain, member of the Elgin Breakfast Rotary and Elgin American Legion and past board member of Senior Services.
Good was elected in 2021 and is seeking a second term. He is a self-employed software developer. He graduated from Elgin Community College. He has served on the Elgin Downtown Neighborhood Association Board and the Elgin Strategic Plan Advisory Commission from 2012-17.
Dixon, an administrator with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and a deacon at Second Baptist Church, is seeking a third term. He has a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in public administration. He is a member of the Elgin Liquor Commission and a member of the Greater Family Health and Food for Greater Elgin boards.
Beyer is a managing broker at Beyer Real Estate, which specializes in commercial and vacation properties. She is chairperson of the Elgin Township Committee on Seniors, president-elect of the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club and president-elect of the Elgin Symphony League.
Brooks, the youngest candidate at age 24, lists her profession as bartender and political activist. She is a volunteer food server for the homeless community, a member of the Elgin Township Committee on Youth and captain for the 17th Republican precinct of Elgin Township.
Alfaro works for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and Latin American/Latino studies and a master’s degree in international public service.
Bosque Pena was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, and raised in Elgin until he was a teenager, when his parents moved the family to Mexico. He returned after graduating from high school, and his profession is training new hires in the robotic inspection of underground municipal infrastructure. He is a founding member of Friends of Masons and a board member of Centro De Informacion.
Smith is a regional security specialist with the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration. He has a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a master’s degree in public administration. He is the commander of the American Legion Post 57 and a member of the Elgin Police Civilian Review Board.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.