Rain? What rain? Voters in La Salle-Peru area storm the polls

Mother Nature drenched the Illinois Valley on Tuesday morning, but the biggest storm was the one at the polls. Voters shrugged off the rain and cast ballots in potentially record numbers.

Utica boasts some of the La Salle County’s most active voters and nearly 60 were in the door at the Utica Village Hall in the first hour of voting.

“It’s very busy,” election judge C. Sue Calkins said.

Oglesby precincts also were buzzing. Four precincts at the Dickinson House and Oglesby Fire Station all reported double-digit totals in the first 75 minutes of voting.

“For the first hour, I would say, ‘Yes, it’s busy,’” said election judge Terry Kamnikar at La Salle precinct 11, which had 49 voters by 7:15 a.m.

Parking was at a premium at St. John’s Lutheran Church, home to four Peru precincts, and where election judge Dave Potthoff said turnout was “robust.”

“It’s pretty much non-stop,” Potthoff said.

All of which flies in the face of the forecast and early voting. It poured in the early morning hours and the mercury stood at 64 degrees by sunrise – conditions that do not usually lend to high turnout – and county clerks had reported impressive early voting totals. These factors suggested a potentially slow start to live voting.

Nothing of the sort played out. The hotly-contested presidential race was a driving force in La Salle County, where County Clerk Jennifer Ebner forecast turnout “near 80%.”

It could go higher in Bureau and Putnam counties. Bureau County has contested down-ballot races for state’s attorney and coroner and Putnam County has a school referendum that had the clerks predicting turnout of 70% to 75% and 80%, respectively.

Parking was tight outside Spring Valley City Hall, site of four Hall Township precincts, and which drew 181 voters by 9:10 a.m.

“We’ve probably had 30 voters in the last 10 minutes,” election judge Faith Whightsil said.