32 candidates hope for one of 18 McHenry County Board seats as polls close in Illinois – Shaw Local

With the polls set to close soon in Illinois, the count will begin to see which candidates will take the 18 open seats on the McHenry County Board.

In total, 32 candidates across nine districts were vying for a seat, about half of whom are current board members. Up to 15 incumbents will be able to keep a seat, as one race, in District 1, has three current board members running for two seats.

Election results from Tuesday are not official and will be certified two weeks after the election.

The board is currently made up 24 members, but will be reduced to 18 when the new board sits in December. The County Board voted in 2018 to reduce its size, a move that was finalized during the redistricting process that takes place every 10 years following the Census.

In addition to reducing the board’s size, McHenry County increased its number of districts from six to nine. That means each district will now have two representatives, instead of four. This means the top two vote getters from each district race will get a seat.

Back in March, eight of the board’s current 24 members did not file to rerun. They were Carolyn Schofield, R-Crystal Lake; Lori Parrish, R-Crystal Lake; Tanya Jindrich, D-Crystal Lake; Kay Bates R-McHenry; Carlos Acosta, D-Woodstock; John Jung, R-Woodstock; Paula Yensen D-Lake in the Hills; and Michele Aavang, R-Woodstock.

Among the nine races, the lead vote-getter of each race will secure a four-year term, while second place will get a two-year term.

For more information on each candidate, check out our article about who’s on the ballot or the Northwest Herald Election Central.

District 1

In District 1, one of two districts where five candidates were competing for two seats, incumbents Michael Vijuk, D-Cary, Theresa Meshes, D-Fox River Grove, and Tom Wilbeck, R-Barrington Hills, were trying to hold onto their seats against challengers Matthew Kunkle, a Republican, and Kenneth Mattes, a Libertarian.

Meshes is a former teacher, and Vijuk has worked as a professor at Harper College. Wilbeck has experience in sales, Mattes is an entrepreneur and Kunkle is a self-employed businessman.

District 1 includes Cary, Fox River Grove and part of Algonquin.

District 2

District 2 was the other race with five candidates.

It has two current board members competing against two first-timers and one former board member.

John Collins, D-Crystal Lake, who was appointed to the board in 2021 to fill state Rep. Suzanne Ness’s seat, and Jeff Thorsen, R-Crystal Lake, were facing off against Republican John Reinert, who has been on the board previously, Democrat Gloria Van Hof, and Libertarian Jake Justen.

Thorsen and Justen both have a background in banking while Collins is a business owner. Reinert is a real estate agent and home developer, and Van Hof, a retired administrator at a long-term care facility, has a long history of volunteering around the county.

District 2 includes parts of Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin and Lakewood.

District 3

Three candidates, two of whom are currently on the County Board, were vying for two spots in District 3.

Carolyn Campbell, D-Crystal Lake, was appointed to the board earlier this year to fill Jessica Phillip’s seat and has worked in a variety of roles to help protect the environment. Bob Nowak, R-Algonquin, has been a long-serving board member and before that worked for the village of Cary for more than two decades. Republican Eric Hendricks is a lawyer who graduated from law school in 2019.

District 3 includes parts of Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake and Lakewood.

District 4

District 4 features four candidates, but just one incumbent, Republican Joe Gottemoller, who is a lawyer and has been a member of the board for several years.

The other three candidates in the race are Republican Mike “Shorty” Shorten, who has been a Nunda Township trustee; Democrat Laura McGowen, a communications coordinator; and Democrat Dominic Petrucci, a special education instructor at McHenry High School District 156.

District 4 includes parts of Crystal Lake, Cary, Prairie Grove, Bull Valley, McHenry and Woodstock.

District 5

Two incumbents, Stephen Doherty, R-Crystal Lake, and Kelli Wegener, D-Crystal Lake, in District 5 were trying to hold onto their seat against Republican challenger Terri Greeno.

Greeno, a long-time stay-at-home mother who started a human resources business, has gone after Wegener at several junctures in the race. Wegener has a background in finance, while Doherty has previously worked at McHenry County College.

District 5 includes all or parts of Cary, Holiday Hills, Lakemoor, McHenry, Oakwood Hills, Port Barrington and Prairie Grove.

District 6

Incumbent Pamela Althoff, R-McHenry, is the lone incumbent running in District 6. She faced fellow Republican Carl Kamienski and Democratic candidate Cece Adams.

Althoff has been in public service for a few decades, having served as a state senator and as mayor of McHenry before running for the board. Kamienski has been involved in other campaigns in the past, but has never ran for office himself. Adams has been an election judge and volunteer as well.

District 6 includes Fox Lake, Spring Grove, McHenry, Ringwood, McCullom Lake, Lakemoor and Johnsburg.

District 7

One incumbent, Jeffrey Schwartz, R-McHenry, ran in District 7 against Republican Brian Sager and Democrat Lou Ness.

Schwartz was appointed to the board in earlyy 2021 and is an entrepreneur and former professional road racer. Sager is the former mayor of Woodstock and before that, was on the City Council for a number of years. Ness is the former executive director of the domestic abuse-advocacy organization Turning Point, a position she held until her high-profile firing in 2004.

District 7 includes all or parts of Woodstock, Wonder Lake, McHenry, Bull Valley and Greenwood.

District 8

Incumbents Tracie Von Bergen, R-Hebron, and Larry Smith, R-Harvard, faced Democrat Jack Kaskel for two seats in District 8.

Smith is a self-employed businessman, while Von Bergen has a history in business management and has been the Hebron Township assessor. Kaskel is seeking his first public office and is a business owner.

District 8 includes all or parts of Richmond, Hebron, Harvard and Marengo.

District 9

Each of the three candidates running in District 9 have experience on the County Board, with Huntley Republicans Jim Kearns and Michael Skala hoping to retain their seats against former County Board member, Huntley Democrat Jessica Phillips.

Kearns is a business owner, while Skala is self-employed and has served on the county board for about a decade, and before that, on the Huntley Community School District 158 Board of Education for about 15 years. Phillips was the first openly gay woman to be elected to the board before resigning in 2021 due to an out-of-district move.

District 9 includes all or parts of Marengo, Union, Huntley and Lake in the Hills, and much unincorporated area.