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Archive for the ‘2020 Elections’ Category

Outstanding ballots casting uncertainty on McHenry County election results

Posted in 2020 Elections, County, McHenry, Politics on November 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Tom Wilbeck

McHenry County’s election results will not be updated further until Wednesday, Nov. 18, after the state’s Nov. 17 deadline for counting ballots, meaning voters will not know the results of many races until then, McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said Wednesday.

The county’s results for several national, state and local races remain too close to call with about 18,000 mail-in ballots that could still be returned, according to the clerk’s office. Provisional ballots have also not been added to the totals.

This leaves several races hanging in the balance as election staff continue processing and counting mail-in and provisional ballots over the next two weeks. All mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 are eligible to be counted, Tirio said in an interview last week.

The race for county board chairman has Republican challenger Mike Buehler leading incumbent Democrat Jack Franks by about 9,500 votes, according to Tuesday night’s unofficial results which were last updated just after midnight.

In the race to represent county board District 1, in the southeastern corner of the county, Democratic newcomer Theresa Meshes is neck-and-neck with Republican incumbent Yvonne Barnes, with Meshes leading by 37 votes. Republican Tom Wilbeck, also an incumbent, leads both of them by a similarly slim margin of about 1,100 votes.

Read more here.

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Supporters of ‘Fair Tax’ amendment concede race

Posted in 2020 Elections, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Politics, Springfield, Taxes on November 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Supporters of a plan to create a graduated income tax rate system in Illinois are conceding the race.

“We are undoubtedly disappointed with this result but are proud of the millions of Illinoisans who cast their ballots in support of tax fairness in this election,” said Quentin Fulks, who led the Vote Yes for Fairness campaign. “Now lawmakers must address a multibillion dollar budget gap without the ability to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.”

The amendment required either 60% of those voting on the amendment to vote yes, or a simple majority of all ballots cast in the election must favor it. The most recent figures show the proposal to change the state’s constitutional requirement of a flat income tax rate lost outright by hundreds of thousands of votes.

With about 97% of the state’s precincts reporting, unofficial results show 55% of voters were against the proposal.

“It is clear that Illinoisans do not trust this legislature and this administration to spend more of their precious tax dollars without restraint,” said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch.

Read on here.

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Casten declares victory over Ives in west suburban congressional race

Posted in 2020 Elections on November 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Sean Casten, left, and Jeanne Ives, right.

Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten declared victory early Wednesday morning over Republican challenger Jeanne Ives in a west and northwest suburban congressional race.

Casten, of Downers Grove, released a statement shortly before 5 a.m. claiming the win in a 6th District contest that turned into a referendum on President Donald Trump and the impact of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Casten had 51.5% of the vote to 46.7% for Ives, according to unofficial results. Libertarian Bill Redpath had 1.7% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Casten.

“Tonight, the voters of the 6th District sent a resounding message,” Casten said in his statement. “They voted for science and facts. They voted for decency, acceptance, and love, and rejected bigotry and racism. They said that they believe we should all have high-quality, affordable health care. They acknowledged the climate crisis and decided we must do something about it.”

Ives had not responded to Casten’s declaration of victory as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Read more here.

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Elections Board warns that races could be undecided for days

Posted in 2020 Elections, Politics on November 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 will be accepted if they arrive by Nov. 17

The graphic from the Illinois State Board of Elections shows average voter turnout since 1976. (Credit: Illinois State Board of Elections)

SPRINGFIELD – Although nearly 3.6 million Illinoisans had already voted by Monday morning, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, nearly 2.3 million ballots are still to be cast if the state is to match the 70.56 percent turnout of 2016.

As of Monday, there were 586,709 mail-in ballots that Illinois voters had requested but not returned. As long as those ballots are post-marked by Tuesday, Nov. 3, they must be accepted by local election authorities if they arrive by Nov. 17 – two weeks after Election Day.

Those ballots can also be turned in at polling locations or deposited at official election authority drop boxes, which officials say are better options to ensure the vote is counted due to potential mail delays.

“If you still have your vote by mail ballot, you can do one of two things: Either bring it with you and vote in person (on Election Day)… or fill it out and bring it directly to your local election authority and check to see if you have a secure ballot drop box in your area,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at his daily news conference Monday. “Do not mail your ballot unless you take it directly to the post office and have it postmarked by (Election Day).”

Because of the outstanding ballots, the Elections Board is warning that election night totals are unofficial, and it could take several weeks to decide close races as officials wait for outstanding mail ballots. Election night results are always unofficial, but the volume of outstanding ballots this year means more races could take longer to decide.

“The Illinois State Board of Elections will regularly update the statewide totals for mail ballots on its website, but does not report any election results until it certifies the vote on Dec. 4. Unofficial results before certification may be obtained from local election authorities,” the Board said in a news release.

Read more here.

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Serving voters, not politics

Posted in 2020 Elections, Letters to the Editor, Springfield on October 31, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Marty McLaughlin is the clear choice when casting your vote for state representative for the 52nd district. As village president in Barrington Hills, Marty has worked tirelessly to streamline government, resolve pension issues, lower taxes and recognize opposing views. His financial background and pension expertise will help bring reform and responsibility to Illinois’s disastrous overspending and overtaxing. Our state is in crisis and needs a known leader not a Madigan-funded rookie.

Vote for Marty McLaughlin. He will represent our interests in Springfield, not Madigan’s or other special interest groups’ agendas.

Don Spry, Barrington Hills

Source

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Early voting ‘started with a bang’ in suburban Cook and Lake counties, with more sites now open ahead of the General Election

Posted in 2020 Elections, Politics on October 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

People were lined up to vote before the doors opened at Village Hall Monday and the appeared to to be no letting up this morning.

More early voting sites opened Monday in Lake and suburban Cook counties, giving areas residents – including in northwest suburban communities – options both in and near their own towns to cast their ballots ahead of the General Election next month.

Polling places are following public health guidelines, and election and village officials have told Pioneer Press that voters are required wear face masks and to socially distance. Also, voting machines will be sanitized between uses.

Barrington is located in both Cook and Lake counties. Barrington residents who live in Cook County may early vote at either the Barrington Hills Village Hall, 112 Algonquin Road, or at Hoffman Estates Village Hall, 1900 Hassell Road, Monday through Friday. At both locations, early voting hours are from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., according to information provided by Barrington Hills Village Clerk Nikki Panos.

“Early voting has started with a bang. We’ve got lines out the door and around the building,” Panos said. “We are absolutely allowing early voting here, for Cook County voters only.”

Both village halls also have drop boxes for mail-in ballots, with an election judge stationed nearby, officials said.

“For those with mail-in ballots, they don’t have to stand in line,” said Panos.

Read on here.

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Suburbs ramp up early voting starting today

Posted in 2020 Elections, Cook, County, Kane, Lake, McHenry on October 19, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Suburban voters already have reportedly cast more than 266,000 early or mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3rd presidential election, with early voting slated to expand across the region starting today.

County clerks are ramping up early voting today, with 17 sites available in Lake County, 11 in McHenry and more than 50 in suburban Cook. Kane County offers seven permanent early voting sites, eight alternative sites and various mobile locations starting today through Oct. 28th.

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Does Village of Barrington Hills President Martin McLaughlin deserve your vote? You decide.

Posted in 2020 Elections, League of Women Voters, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes on October 18, 2020| 1 Comment »

On September 26th, The League of Women Voters (LWV) of the Palatine Area, lwvpalatinearea.org, conducted a virtual non-partisan candidate forum for three candidates running for the 52nd District of the Illinois House of Representatives; Martin McLaughlin, Alia Sarfraz and Marci Suelzer. The YouTube recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

We listened intently to the recording and felt we would be remiss if we did not share at least one excerpt we believe is critical for voters to hear or read. The LWV asked candidates to,

“Think of a person that is, or has served in Springfield, that’s made an impact for the better in our state.”

Marci Suelzer’s response to this simple question was,

Marci Suelzer

“I’m somewhat at a disadvantage in this question in that I did not grow up in Illinois. But I do think that Governor Pritzker has made an impact in saving lives in Illinois.

I wish that I had a better base of historical knowledge to go back two decades or whatever, but I simply don’t.”

The question and her response can be heard here.

Though she admittedly lacks experience, that has not stopped significant contributions to Suelzer’s campaign which only began less than three months ago. Her campaign committee has amassed upwards of $400,000, primarily from Democratic Party of Illinois ($129k), Democratic Majority ($94k), LIUNA Chicago Laborers ($58k), Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters PAC ($58k) and Friends to Elect Kathleen Willis ($45k).

Clearly with this overabundance of political funding, Marci Suelzer does not need to worry about her lack of experience, since if she is elected, her well-financed handlers will tell her how to vote.

Martin McLaughlin has been running for the 52nd District for nearly a year with funding of about 20% of that of his opponent. What matters most when considering which candidate to vote for in an election;

  • (a) one who has been successfully leading a Village for eight years or
  • (b) one who, although inexperienced, has substantial financial backing from the current State leadership?

You decide!

Campaign finance references: Marci Suelzer Campaign Committee, Martin McLaughlin For State Representative

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How Pritzker May Win by Losing the ‘Fair Tax’ Fight

Posted in 2020 Elections, Better Government Association, OP/Ed, Politics, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest on October 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The contest ahead of a Nov. 3 vote on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution remains close. There are many interesting paths forward depending on the eventual outcome of this vote.

The fight over the graduated income tax—or the “Fair Tax,” as Gov. J.B. Pritzker branded it—has rightly been called a battle of the billionaires.

But it’s not just billionaires like Pritzker and his chief opponent on the tax, Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who have big stakes in the tax vote. All of us do.

The contest ahead of a Nov. 3 vote on Pritzker’s proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution remains close. A source familiar with daily polling data from the pro-amendment side told me the projected outcome is within the margin of error of the polls, too close to call.

Other facts support this. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton recently warned about a possible 20 percent tax hike on everyone if the amendment fails. The threat would not be needed if the vote were secure.

Griffin late last month poured another $26.8 million into the campaign to stop the amendment. He wouldn’t have doubled his initial outlay if the outcome weren’t still in play.

It’s astounding the contest is close. The “fair tax” is a soak-the-rich appeal to raise taxes on the top 3 percent of earners. The remaining 97 percent are told their taxes will drop or stay the same. The 6 million taxpayers expecting lower or level tax bills should overwhelm the 190,000 in the top 3 percent who would face a tax hike.

Of course, politics is more than math. It requires understanding the hopes and fears of people, their sense of whom to trust and what to believe. Those concerns help explain why Pritzker’s proposal is not faring better.

Read more from the Better Government Association here.

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Editorial: For the Illinois House. Mazzochi, Breen, Curtis, Wheeler, Edly-Allen, McLaughlin, Morrison, Kegarise, Yost, Walsh

Posted in 2020 Elections, Cellular Service, Politics, Press Release, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, Springfield, Uncategorized, Village President on October 6, 2020| Leave a Comment »

This is the Tribune Editorial Board’s second installment of endorsements for contested Illinois House races in the Nov. 3 general election.

52nd District

Think it’s tough trying to get things done in Springfield? Try Barrington Hills.

When Republican Marty McLaughlin became mayor in 2013, the Village Board split on issues was 5-2 and McLaughlin was one of the two minority votes. Still, he got his initiatives through, including a consolidation of 911 services that saved taxpayers millions of dollars. As an investment manager, he knows money.

And he knows that because of the pandemic, revenue from state taxes will be a sliver of what they were before. Other states, he says, have decided to slash spending to brace for less money coming in. That’s the course Illinois should take as well, McLaughlin says.

McLaughlin says. His opponent, Island Lake Democrat Marci Suelzer, is a business executive and a licensed mental health counselor. Her skill set is extensive, but McLaughlin is endorsed.

Read the rest of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements here.

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