Although Kane County voters in Tuesday’s general election appear to have favored incumbents for the county board chair and state’s attorney positions, unofficial results show the county may be getting a new coroner.
In the Kane County coroner race, Democratic challenger Monica Silva received 50.90% of the vote while Republican incumbent Rob Russell received 49.10% of the vote, according to unofficial results on Wednesday. Numbers are still expected to change as vote-by-mail and provisional ballots are counted.
Silva told The Beacon-News on Wednesday that she was enthusiastic about the results and grateful to Kane County voters. She also complemented Russell’s campaign, saying both of them were well run, stayed positive, focused on the issues and on what they could each offer the voters.
“I very much look forward to working with him in the future, in this transition,” she said of her possible victory. “I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to the coroner because he has done a very good job for us.”
When asked why voters may have chosen her over Russell, who has been coroner for the last 12 years, Silva said she worked hard to connect with voters and get out the message that she is qualified for the position because of her clinical and public health background. In an interview before the election, she said she believes the coroner role is more about public health than it is about law enforcement, in contrast to how Russell said he saw the position.
Silva is a chiropractor in Aurora and has been a Kane County Board member since 2010. As a board member, Silva previously chaired the Public Health Committee and vice-chaired the Judicial and Public Safety Committee, she said in the pre-election interview.
The first thing Silva would do as coroner is observe her new staff to learn from them, she said on Wednesday.
“I think that the staff that’s there now has done a really good job at keeping the Coroner’s Office doing what it is supposed to do,” she said.
Russell told The Beacon-News on Wednesday that he was “a bit shocked” by the result.
“It’s not over until its over, but its not looking good for me,” he said. “I can honestly say that it would be a miracle if somehow I was able to pull it out.”
He hasn’t called to concede just yet and is planning to wait to see if mail-in ballots sway the numbers, he said. But whatever happens, he wouldn’t change anything about what he has done in office or the way he ran his campaign, he said.
The Kane County Board chair position appears to have been won by Democratic incumbent Corinne Pierog, who ran against Republican challenger Lance Bell in the Tuesday election.
Unofficial results on Wednesday showed that 52.25% voted for Pierog while 47.75% voted for Bell, with all precincts reporting.
Pierog told The Beacon-News on Wednesday that she was “delighted and joyful and honored to have this opportunity,” but also that she had to sit down upon learning the news.
“It’s a responsibility, and I welcome it, but I’m humbled by it,” she said.
Pierog has led the Kane County Board as its chair since she was first elected in 2020. Before that, she worked at public schools, colleges, a film company and a chamber of commerce before moving back to Illinois and starting a business to help organizations develop their boards, she said in an interview with The Beacon-News before the election.
Looking forward to the next four years, Pierog said she was excited to steward all of the work that has to be done, from helping to guide the new Kane County Economic Development Corporation through its infancy, creating a new strategic plan and campaigning for a potential sales tax that will be put to voters as a referendum question in April to various transportation projects that the county is looking into.
When asked why voters may have chosen her over Bell, she said it was likely her successful track record as County Board chair.
Bell is the CEO of ServingIntel and a leader of the nonprofit Christian Leadership Ministries. He told The Beacon-News in an interview before the election that he is a lifelong entrepreneur and has previously founded a number of other businesses.
The Kane County state’s attorney race appears to have been won by Democratic incumbent Jamie Mosser, who ran against Republican challenger Andrew Sosnowski.
Unofficial results on Wednesday showed that 53.27% voted for Mosser while 46.73% voted for Sosnowski.
“I’m extremely grateful, humbled and thrilled to continue to do a job that I love and will help to keep our community safe,” Mosser said on Wednesday.
Mosser has been the Kane County state’s attorney since she was elected in 2020. She previously worked for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, where she ran the Domestic Violence Unit before going into private practice, she said in an interview with The Beacon-News before the election.
When asked what her plans are for the next four years, Mosser said she will be launching a human trafficking unit with specialized investigators, prosecutors, advocates and other resources. Her office believes there has been a rise in human trafficking, and this unit will help get to traffickers and support victims, she said.
Mosser also plans to create a juvenile pre-arrest diversion program that is similar to the adult program but with a focus on juveniles who “may be in need of some intervention and to work with family members to make sure that they stay out of our legal system as much as possible,” she said.
She said she has proven over the past four years that she can do the job in a non-partisan fashion.
“My balance that I bring is that I will treat people who need help and can be rehabilitated in a proper way and that I would also make sure that those who make our community unsafe are going to go to prison,” Mosser said. “In the last four years, I’ve brought that programing. I’ve brought that style of prosecution.”
Plus, she said her ideas for the next four years are what the voters seemingly wanted.
Sosnowski also previously worked for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he led the Family Justice Division and helped to develop the county’s Child Advocacy Center, he told The Beacon-News in an interview before the election. He also previously worked as the general counsel for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and he now runs a private practice, he said.
In the race for circuit clerk in Kane County, incumbent Democrat Theresa Barreiro received 53.38% of the vote, according to unofficial results on Wednesday, with Republican Anthony Catella getting 46.62%.
For Kane County auditor, according to unofficial results Wednesday, incumbent Democrat Penny Wegman got 53.11% of the vote, to 46.89% for Republican Gretchen Butler.
In the contest for Kane County recorder, incumbent Republican Sandy Wegman received 51.49% of the vote, with Democrat Marisela Villegas getting 48.51%, according to unofficial results Wednesday.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com