Primary races shaping up in the Fox Valley
McHenry County
A pair of high-ranking McHenry County Board members from the same district, including Chairman Ken Koehler, will face stiff challenges from three fellow Republicans next year, while two former board leaders hope voters return them to their seats.
Meanwhile, a pair of key races in Kane County come down to candidates changing their political stripes.
Those are among the election story lines to shape up late Monday as the filing period for candidates wanting to be on the 2010 primary and general election ballots came to a close.
Among the more interesting contests to emerge in the February primary is one pitting five candidates - each experienced as an elected official - for two GOP nominations in the McHenry County Board's District 2.
The incumbents in that district are Koehler, the board chairman since 2004, and Lyn Orphal, a board member since 1999 and chairman of its Human Resources Committee.
They will be challenged by Crystal Lake City Council member Ellen Brady Mueller, McHenry County College Trustee Donna Kurtz, and Sandra DePaul, a member of the McHenry County Regional Board of School Trustees. The district includes the northwest portion of Algonquin Township and northeast corner of Grafton Township.
Koehler said there are no issues specific to District 2 driving the number of candidates, but noted several important matters facing the full board.
"We're getting into a lot of really interesting issues, including video poker, as always, roads and transportation, and now the 2030 (long range) plan," he said.
Republicans in four of the five other districts also will settle primary contests in February, including in District 3, where former board member Nick Provenzano is among five candidates seeking one of two nominations. Another former member, one-time Vice Chairman John Jung, also is seeking a return as one of three candidates in District 5 that represents portions of Lake in the Hills and Huntley.
In the races for countywide office, McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren will face his first primary challenge in more than a decade as Zane Seipler, who was fired by the sheriff's department before an arbitrator recently overturned the decision, takes on his boss for the top job.
County Clerk Katherine Schultz will not be dealing with a primary contest, but will have an opponent for the first time in 20 years after Woodstock resident Mark L. Freund filed to run for the post as a Democrat.
Kane County
Kane County Treasurer David Rickert is facing a party challenge in his bid to retain his office.
Bob Kovanic of Sugar Grove, an accountant who owns a firm, filed papers Monday to run as a Republican for the job.
"I think incumbents in the current season need to be challenged," said Kovanic, who is making his first run for office. He said he believes the treasurer's office should not run over budget. "It is unacceptable for the treasurer to have that problem," he said.
Kane County Clerk John Cunningham won't have a primary challenger. But Ghafran Chishti, a Democrat from Elgin, filed to run against him in the fall, as did Jose Luis Del Bosque of Aurora for the Green Party.
You need a score card to keep track of the comings and goings in the northern Fox Valley.
Last week, District 17's Deborah Allan, who has served as a Republican since 2002, filed to run for re-election - as a Democrat. She'll face Benjamin Bernal of Elgin.
She's not the only candidate to pull a party switcheroo. Stan Hickrod, who ran for coroner in 2008 as a Democrat, is in a three-way race in the Republican primary for the District 19 county board seat. His opponents are incumbent Catherine Hurlbut and Nathan Akemann.
Hickrod ran as a Republican for the Dundee Township board in 2005, and for coroner as a Republican in 2004.
Former county board member Lee Barrett is challenging the current officeholder, John Fahy, for the Republican nomination for the District 21 seat. On the Democratic ticket, Joseph Haimann of Carpentersville entered the race.
Kane County
Kane County Treasurer David Rickert is facing a party challenge in his bid to retain his office.
Bob Kovanic of Sugar Grove, an accountant who owns his own firm, filed papers Monday to run as a Republican for the office.
"I think incumbents in the current season need to be challenged," said Kovanic, who is making his first run for office. Rickert ran unopposed four years ago.
Kovanic said he believes the treasurer's office should not run over budget. "It is unacceptable for the treasurer to have that problem," he said.
Filing for established-party candidates closed Monday for the Feb. 2 primary.
Kane County Clerk John Cunningham has an easy path to the Republican nomination, as nobody filed to run against him in the primary. Ghafran Chishti of Elgin filed for the post in the Democratic primary, while Jose Luis Del Bosque of Aurora filed in the Green Party candidate.
Two long-serving Kane County Board members are seeing challenges from fellow party members.
Democrat Gerry Jones of Aurora, who has been on the board since 1992, will face off with Lorena Cundari of Aurora in District 7.
And District 11's Robert McConnaughay, who said last week that he contemplated not running again, is challenged by Michael Donahue of Geneva. McConnaughay has been on the board for 19 years.
Donahue said he would focus on issues of particular importance to District 11: redevelopment of the old Kane County jail site on Fabyan Parkway, reuse of the Settler's Hill landfill property off Fabyan, and the use of the former Sixth Street School property, which now houses the Kane County Regional Office of Education. There's been talk of selling that property.
District 1 board member Sylvia Leonberger, an Aurora Democrat, is being challenged by Myrna Molina, who held the seat briefly in 2006. Molina was appointed to the board to serve the last three months of a term of an officeholder who moved out of the district. No Republicans filed.
Candidate filings
The following candidates have filed for county and statewide offices, for the primary to be held Feb. 2.
Statewide offices
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Corey Dabney of Aurora
Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias of Chicago
David Hoffman of Chicago
Cheryle Jackson of Chicago
Robert Marshall of Burr Ridge
Jacob Meister of Chicago
Green
LeAlan Jones of Chicago
Republican
John Arrington of Harvey
Patrick Hughes of Hinsdale
Mark Kirk of Highland Park
Thomas "Tom" Kuna of Jerseyville
Donald (Don) Lowery of Golconda
Andy Martin of Chicago
Kathleen Thomas of Springfield
Robert "Bob" Zadek of Rockford
Governor
Democrat
Daniel W. Hynes of Chicago
Pat Quinn of Chicago*
Ed Scanlan of Oak Park
William "Dock" Walls III of Chicago
Green
Richard Mayers of Chicago
Rich Whitney of Carbondale
Republican
Adam Andrzejewski of Hinsdale
Bill Brady of Bloomington
Kirk W. Dillard of Hinsdale
Andy McKenna of Chicago
Dan Proft of Chicago
Jim Ryan of Elmhurst
Robert J. Schillerstrom of Naperville
Lieutenant Governor
Democrat
Mike Boland of East Moline
Thomas Castillo of Elmhurst
Scott Cohen of Chicago
Rickey R. Hendon of Chicago
Terry Link of Waukegan
Arthur L. Turner of Chicago
Green
Don Crawford of St. Elmo
Republican
Brad Cole of Carbondale
Dennis Cook of Orland Park
Matt Murphy of Palatine
Jason Plummer of Edwardsville
Don Tracy of Springfield
Randy A. White Sr. of Hamilton
Attorney General
Democrat
Lisa Madigan of Chicago*
Green
David Black of Belvidere
Republican
Steve Kim of Northbrook
Secretary of State
Democrat
Jesse White of Chicago*
Green
Adrian Frost of Plano
Republican
Robert Enriquez of Aurora
Treasurer
Democrat
Mark Doyle of Chicago
Robin Kelly of Matteson
Justin P. Oberman of Chicago
Green
Scott Summers of Harvard
Republican
Dan Rutherford of Chenoa
Comptroller
Democrat
S. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Hoffman Estates
Clinton "Clint" Krislove of Wilmette
David E. Miller of Lynwood
Green
Erika Schafer of Chicago
Republican
Jim Dodge of Orland Park
William Kelly of Chicago
Judy Baar Topinka of Riverside
Congressional District 8
Democrat
Melissa Bean of Barrington
Jonathan Farnick of Woodstock
Green
Bill Scheurer of Lindenhurst
Republican
Dirk W. Beveridge of Barrington
John Dawson of Barrington
Christopher Geissler of Barrington
Gregory Jacobs of Mundelein
Maria Rodriguez of Long Grove
Joe Walsh of Winnetka
Congressional District 14
Democrat
Bill Foster* of Batavia
James Pistorius of Aurora
Green
Daniel Kairis of South Elgin
Republican
Jeff Danklefsen of Geneva
Ethan A. Hastert of Elburn
Randall M. "Randy" Hultgren of Winfield
James "Jim" Purcell of Batavia
Mark Vargas of Elgin
Congressional District 16
Democrat
George Gaulrapp of Freeport
Green
Terry Campbell of Rockford
Republican
Donald A. Manzullo of Leaf River
State Senate
28th District
Republican
John Millner of Carol Stream
Democrat
Corinne Michelle Pierog of St. Charles
22nd District
Democrat
Michael Noland of Elgin
Republican
Steve Rauschenberger of Elgin
State Representatives
64th District
Democrat
Robert Kaempfe of Crystal Lake
Republican
Michael W. Tryon of Crystal Lake
63rd District
Democrat
Jack D. Franks of Marengo
Republican
John O'Neill of McHenry
55th District
Democrat
Gregory C. Brownfield of Bartlett
Republican
Randy Ramey of Carol Stream
52nd District
Republican
Mark Beaubien, Jr. of Barrington Hills
50th District
Democrat
Linda Healy of Aurora
Republican
Kay Hatcher of Yorkville
Bob R. McQuillan of Geneva
Keith R. Wheeler of Oswego
49th District
Democrat
Jennifer Barconi of South Elgin
Republican
Timothy Schmitz* of Batavia
44th District
Democrat
Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Republican
Billie Roth of Streamwood
43rd District
Democrat
Keith Farnham of Elgin
Republican
Ruth Munson of Elgin
Second District Appellate Court
Callum vacancy: Ann B. Jorgensen (R) of Wheaton, Kenneth Moy (R) of Hinsdale
Gilleran-Johnson vacancy: Mary S. Schostok (R) of Libertyville, Donna Kathryn Kelly (R) of McHenry
Kane County
Sheriff: Rob Russell (R) of South Elgin and Donald Kramer (R) of Geneva; Pat Perez* (D) of Sugar Grove
Clerk: John Cunningham* (R) of Aurora
Treasurer: David Rickert* (R) of Elgin, Bob Kovanic (R) of Sugar Grove
Regional school superintendent: Douglas Johnson* (R) of Geneva
County Board
District 15 (1, 4-year term): Barb Wojnicki* (R) of St. Charles, Al Lenkaitis Jr. (R) of Campton Hills, Susan Secondi (R) of Campton Township, Kay Catlin (D) of St. Charles
District 17 (1, 4-year term): Deborah Allan* (D) of Elgin, Benjamin Bernal (D) of Elgin
District 19 (1, 4-year term): Cathy Hurlbut* (R) of Elgin, Stan Hickrod (R) of Sleepy Hollow, Nathan Akemann (R) of Elgin
District 21 (1, 4-year term): John Fahy* (R) of West Dundee, Lee Barrett (R) of East Dundee; Joseph Haimann (D) of Carpentersville
District 23 (1, 4-year term): Maggie Auger (R) of Algonquin; Donald Moore (R) of Carpentersville; Linda Nuneman (D) of Sleepy Hollow
District 25 (1, 4-year term): Robert Kudlicki* (R) of Hampshire, Thomas Smith (R) of Burlington Township.
Judicial
16th Circuit judge (Grometer vacancy): Kevin T. Busch* (R) of Batavia; Fred M. Morelli (R) of Aurora
16th Circuit judge (Wegner vacancy): Timothy J. McCann (R) of Oswego
16th Circuit judge (Kane County): David R. Akemann (R) of Elgin; Robert L. Janes (R) of St. Charles Republican; Thomas Patrick Rice (R) of Batavia; D.J. Tegeler (R) of Geneva; Leonard J. Wojtecki (R) of Geneva; John G. Dalton (D) of Elgin; Michael C. Funkey of Aurora
16th Circuit judge (3rd subcircuit): Karen Simpson* (R) of St. Charles
16th Circuit judge (4th subcircuit): Susan Clancy Boles* (R) of Wayne
McHenry County
Sheriff: Keith Nygren* (R) of Hebron, Zane R. Seipler (R) of Woodstock, Mike Mahon (D) of Lake in the Hills, Gus Philpott (G) of Woodstock
Clerk: Katherine C. Schultz* (R) of Woodstock, Mark L. Freund (D) of Woodstock
Treasurer: William W. "Bill" LeFew* (R) of Harvard
Regional school superintendent: Joseph R. "Joe" Williams (R) of Huntley
County Board
District 1 (2, 4-year terms): Yvonne Barnes* (R) of Cary, Anna May Miller* (R) of Cary; Robert "Bob" Nowak (R) of Cary
District 2 (2, 4-year terms): Donna Kurtz (R) of Crystal Lake, Linda (Lyn) Orphal* (R) of Crystal Lake, Kenneth D. "Ken" Koehler* (R) of Crystal Lake, Sanda DePaul (R) of Crystal Lake, Ellen M. Brady Mueller (R) of Crystal Lake
District 3 (2, 4-year terms): Veronica A. Armstrong (R) of Crystal Lake, Nick Provenzano (R) of McHenry, Karen J. Tynis (R) of McHenry, Barbara Wheeler* (R) of Crystal Lake, Lori McConville (D) of Crystal Lake, S. "Craig" Steagall (R) of Crystal Lake
District 4 (2, 4-year terms): Sandra Fay Salgado* (R) of McHenry, Jeff S. Thirtyacre (D) of Spring Grove, Peter J. Merkel* (R) of McHenry
District 5 (2, 4-year terms): James P. Kennedy* (D) of Lake in the Hills, John P. Jung (R) of Woodstock, Tina Hill* (R) of Woodstock, David Frederick (R) of Woodstock, Frank Wedig (G) of Woodstock
District 6 (2, 4-year terms): Richard C. Draper (R) of Wonder Lake, Diane Evertsen (R) of Harvard, Victor J. Narusis (R) of Woodstock, Daniel P. Ryan* (R) of Huntley
Judicial
Circuit Judge: Gordon E. Graham (R) of Crystal Lake
Cook County
President, Board of Commissioners
Toni Preckwinkle (D) of Chicago, Terrence O'Brien (D) of Chicago, Danny Davis (D) of Chicago, Dorothy Brown (D) of Chicago, John Garrido (R) of Chicago, Roger Keats (R) of Wilmette
Board of Commissioners, 15th District
Timothy Schneider (R) of Bartlett
Assessor
Joseph Berrios (D) of Chicago, Robert Shaw (D) of South Holland
Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall (R) of Evanston
Clerk
David Orr (D) of Chicago
Sheriff
Thomas Dart (D) of Chicago, Frederick Collins (R) of Chicago
Treasurer
Maria Pappas (D) of Chicago
Note: * signifies incumbent
Source: County clerks, Illinois State Board of Elections
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=333678">GOP candidates lining up in hopes of changing trend <span class="date">[11/3/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=333660">Cook County: Stroger feeling 'dynamite' about re-election chances <span class="date">[11/3/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=333666">Lake County ballots to have touch of Green <span class="date">[11/3/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=333663">DuPage County: Even Democrats have primaries <span class="date">[11/3/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=333671">Kane County treasurer faces challenge <span class="date">[11/3/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>