Incumbents fare well in Lake County municipal board races
Incumbent trustees in several communities fared well Tuesday for seats on village boards, although there were surprises.
Those associated with incumbent mayors received a boost as voters to an extent favored experienced candidates over newcomers in some races. All vote totals are unofficial.
Libertyville
In a close race for three trustee seats, incumbent Katherine “Casey” Rooney led all candidates with 2,778 votes followed by newcomer Kara Macdonald with 2,315 votes and incumbent Matt Krummick with 2,256 votes. Andrew Herrmann had 2,131 votes and Patrick Scheibler, 2,123.
Krummick, Rooney and Herrman ran as a team with Donna Johnson who prevailed in a close race against Trustee Matthew Hickey for a second term.
The three shared the message of providing sound municipal infrastructure, a vibrant business district, thoughtfully balanced budget, well equipped first responders and attractive park system.
Vernon Hills
Two seasoned incumbents and a retired former longtime village employee sailed to victory in the race for three seats on village board.
Michael Schenk was leading the pack with 1,174 votes followed by Craig Takaoka with 1,130 votes and newcomer Monica Lundeen with 988. The 30-plus year run of longtime Mayor Roger Byrne apparently is over as he finished fourth with 832 votes.
Byrne, after serving as mayor since 1993, ran for a trustee seat due to health issues. Takaoka will be serving a third 4-year term and Schenk a second.
Gurnee
Incumbents running for three seats on the Gurnee village board were easily reelected.
Karen “KT” Thorstenson led with 2,286 votes followed by Jeanne Balmes, with 2,219 votes and Kevin Woodside with 1,869. Keith Owens came in fourth with 1,600 votes.
Wauconda
Voters chose experience over newcomers Tuesday in a slate versus slate matchup for mayor and three village board seats.
Incumbent trustees Tim Howe and Sam Stein with Matthew J. Brown running as Wauconda Strong 2025 easily outdistanced the Wauconda Screams 4 Ice Cream Party of Wende Walker, Lisa Noga and Sandra Mosak.
Howe had 1,124 votes to lead all trustee candidates, followed by Brown with 1,089 votes and Stein with 1,080. Walker had 391 votes, Noga 389 and Mosak 369.
Wauconda Strong 2025 focused on pursuing ongoing economic development initiatives and advancing the village's newly adopted strategic plan among other goals.
Fox Lake
Five candidates including incumbents Bernice “Bernie” Konwent, Jeffrey “Jeff” Jensen and Ronald “Ron” Stochl and challengers David K. Gauger and Glenn Close ran for three available village board seats.
Jensen led with 1,028 votes, followed by Konwent with 966, David K. Gauger with 893, Stochl with 423 and Glenn Close with 353.
Round Lake
A slate of incumbents and a newcomer were selected from five candidates running for three trustee seats.
Incumbents Kevin Strine and John Boyk with newcomer Howard Schultz took the three spots. Strine led the tallies with 673 votes followed by Schultz with 655 and Boyk with 622. They ran as a team with Trustee Brian Brubaker, who crushed incumbent Russell Kraly for mayor.
Newcomer Elisabeth Efird had 356 votes and incumbent Trustee Sanjay Patel 291 votes to finish out of the running.
Round Lake Park
The Round Lake Park village board will have a new look after a showdown of slate versus slate for mayor and three trustee seats.
The slate Time for a Change by former village trustee Robert H. Seminary running for mayor with Debra A. Bennington, Ruben J. Mendoza and Christine Lucheck ran the table for mayor and three trustee seats.
The four had 917, 785, 762, and 759 votes, respectively.
Voice for a Better Tomorrow lead by mayor Linda M. Luccassen included David Fahrner and Joan Rosenkranz and incumbent Karen M. Eggert. They tallied 336, 371, 335, and 360 votes, respectively.
Island Lake
Two slates battled in the race for mayor and three seats on the village board.
Island Lake People's Party was led by Mayor Richard McLaughlin with Wendy Mills and incumbents Charles Cermak and Steve Deasey for trustee.
Common Sense for Island Lake is led by Brian Bartnick for mayor with Duane Swiggum, James Mervin Munson and Sam Duggan for trustee.
Village Trustee Stacey Pyne also ran for mayor rather than reelection and is off the board with a loss Tuesday.
McLaughlin comfortably defeated the challengers with 840 votes to 289 for Pyne and 242 for Bartnick. Mills, Cermak and Deasey easily took the board seats with 881, 868, and 796 votes, respectively.
Barrington
Incumbents Todd Sholeen with 2,686 Jennifer Wondrasek with 1,570 votes and newcomer Lauren Klauer with 1,147 votes were elected to three seats on the village board. Jesse Rojo trailed with 1,031 votes. Trustee Mike Moran was elected village president, succeeding Karen Darch, who did not seek a fifth term.
Long Grove
Four candidates were seeking three village board seats. Incumbent Rita O'Connor led the pack with 413 votes, followed by newcomer Adam S. Harris with 389, and incumbent Bobbie O'Reilly with 300. Philip Carona had 220.
Lincolnshire
Four candidates sought three village board seats. Incumbents Jill Raizin with 682 votes and Robert Mitchell with 511 took two seats. For the third seat, Thomas H. Munger with 474 votes edged Elliot Dubin with 467 votes.