Voters opt for status quo in DuPage County Board primary races

It was a good night for incumbents on the DuPage County Board.

Seven current board members – four Democrats and three Republicans – made a strong showing in the June 28 primary.

Come November, at least one Democratic nominee will face three Republicans in all six county board districts. GOP candidates are trying to make the general election a referendum on Democratic control of the 18-member board.

Countywide, the DuPage clerk’s office had tabulated nearly 100% of primary ballots as of late June 28. The unofficial tallies reported don’t account for as many as 13,721 outstanding mail-in ballots that have yet to be returned in DuPage.

In District 1, encompassing northeastern DuPage, Republican voters opted for the status quo. Two candidates who’ve spent a combined 27 years on the county board and another familiar name were pulling ahead in their primary race.

Unofficial results showed incumbent Sam Tornatore topping the five-candidate field with 4,835 votes. Elmhurst accountant Cindy Cronin Cahill, the sister of departing county board Chairman Dan Cronin, netted 4,392 votes. Incumbent Don Puchalski was cruising toward the GOP nomination for the third District 1 seat with 4,285 votes.

Challenger Maria Reyes, a police officer, had 2,951 votes. Elmhurst Alderman Bob Dunn trailed with 2,772.

The top three vote-getters will advance to the general election on Nov. 8 to face DuPage NAACP President Michael Childress, the lone Democrat running in District 1.

There were no incumbents in the GOP primary scramble in District 2, a portion of the county anchored by Elmhurst and Oak Brook.

Former county board member Sean Noonan led the six-candidate field with 7,147 votes, followed by attorney and former York Township Clerk Daniel Kordik with 4,636 votes. Only 132 votes separated political neophyte Nicole Giannini and Elmhurst City Council member Jennifer Veremis in the fight for the nomination to the third seat.

Seemingly out of contention were John Simpson with 2,917 votes and Grant Dungan with 2,656.

On the Democratic side, newcomer Yeena Yoo, 10-year incumbent Liz Chaplin and fellow board member Paula Deacon Garcia were headed toward primary victories in District 2.

Yoo, a legal aid attorney, received 8,151 votes. Chaplin carried 6,281 votes and Deacon Garcia had 5,696 votes. Challenger Maryann Vazquez trailed with 4,672 votes.

Glen Ellyn Democrats Mary Ozog and Lynn LaPlante are poised to defend their District 4 seats in November. Voters also were backing retired teacher Shawn Ryan for the remaining Democratic slot.

The unofficial count shows Ozog with 8,505 votes, LaPlante with 8,048 votes and Ryan with 4,562. Glen Ellyn Trustee Gary Fasules was in fourth place with 3,755 votes.

Republican incumbent Grant Eckhoff, who first joined the board in 2002, maintained a comfortable lead over the rest of the GOP field with 7,114 votes. Attorney and College of DuPage Trustee Annette Corrigan collected 6,056 votes. Reid Foltyniewicz, a former Lombard trustee and an Oak Brook police sergeant, garnered 5,646 votes. GOP challenger Paula McGowen, making her third attempt at a board seat, appeared to fall short with 3,974 votes.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220628/voters-opt-for-status-quo-in-dupage-county-board-primary-races