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There will be some new faces in key elected positions throughout La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties following the election.
As polls close at 7 p.m., Tuesday’s unofficial results, which may start to funnel in beginning about 9 p.m., may give residents an answer to who those new individuals will be.
Among them, state Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, has opted not to run for reelection for the Illinois 76th District House of Representative position. Additionally, Bureau County State’s Attorney Tom Briddick announced he would not run to keep his seat.
Of course, we’ll keep our eye on the presidential race results in each county as well.
Follow the live results for La Salle and Bureau counties here. Remember voting totals are not final until they are certified, because of provisional and grace period voting that may make a difference in closer races.
Here are 5 races we’ll be watching Tuesday:
Who will succeed state Rep. Lance Yednock?
After a contested primary in both parties, Amy “Murri” Briel, an Ottawa Democrat who served as Yednock’s chief of staff, and Liz Bishop, a La Salle-Peru Republican who has been active in La Salle County politics, emerged as political opponents.
Briel defeated DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes and DeKalb City Council member Carolyn Zasada, while Bishop bested Crystal Loughran in March. The primary victories meant an Illinois Valley resident will continue to represent the district that now includes DeKalb County.
Bishop is seeking to grab a seat in the Illinois House from the Democratic majority. She was outspoken about wanting to repeal the SAFE-T Act on her campaign.
The candidates participated last month in a political forum with Shaw Local News Network, highlighting their stances on health care, state park fees and public safety, among other topics.
La Salle County Board chairman race
La Salle County Board Finance Committee Chairman Brian Dose, a Democrat from Ottawa, is challenging incumbent County Board Chairman Don Jensen, a Republican from Deer Park Township. Both won primaries in March.
The duo has clashed on the La Salle County Board floor on occasion, most notably a disagreement of the process for how to spend American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Peru pool referendum
A nonbinding question on the Nov. 5 ballot will ask Peru voters: “Shall the city of Peru construct and operate a municipal swimming pool funded by the use of the hotel/motel tax?” Former Alderwoman Sherry Mayszak successfully collected more than enough signatures to get the referendum on the ballot with the idea of showing the Peru City Council the level of interest that there is among residents to construct a pool.
A special City Council meeting drew residents in favor of a new pool.
Mayor Ken Kolowski floated an idea in March 2022 that would have increased hotel/motel taxes in Peru to pay off the loan for a new pool at Washington Park, but the idea was met with skepticism from council members and questions that went unresolved. The idea was dropped. Peru, however, did increase the tax collected for hotel and motel that stays within city limits from 5.64% to 7.5% in May 2022.
Putnam County schools referendum
Putnam County residents will have their voice heard on whether the school district moves to a single campus in Granville, joining the high school and elementary school there, after the district has found its facilities need more than $60 million in updates.
The school district, which has about 800 students, has a high school and elementary school in Granville, an elementary school in Hennepin and a junior high school in rural McNabb.
If the referendum passes, the schools in Hennepin and McNabb will be closed, and renovations will be made to house all Putnam County district students at its existing Granville campus. The cost to make the move from the old buildings to a new facility will be about $34 million, but does not include the cost of improvements identified for the high school.
Bureau County state’s attorney, coroner races
Briddick announced he would not run, setting up a race between Republican Daniel C. Anderson and Democrat Brad Popurella for the lead prosecutor position. Anderson has served under three state’s attorneys and has more than 16 years of criminal prosecution experience. Popurella serves as the first assistant public defender for Bureau County, a role he has held since 2014.
Bureau County Coroner Janice Wamhoff resigned before her term expired, leading to the appointment of her granddaughter, Democrat Alexandria Wamhoff. Alexandria Wamhoff will be challenged by Republican Kurt Workman, a first responder of Tiskilwa. Alexandria Wamhoff trained with the coroner’s office in December 2022 and signed on as a deputy in March 2023. Workman is employed full time by Buecomm as a 911 telecommunicator and volunteers as a lieutenant with the Tiskilwa Fire Department.