:quality(70):focal(1780x875:1790x885)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/WYZO3Q225ZE5PL7Z44GTCMOSSI.jpg)
DIXON – A former Dixon mayor has won the Republican nomination in the race toward filling an Illinois state Senate seat.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, The Associated Press declared Li Arellano Jr., of Dixon, to be the unofficial winner of the GOP primary for the 37th Senate District seat.
That seat now is filled by state Sen. Win Stoller, R-Germantown Hills. Stoller has represented the 37th District since 2020 but decided not to seek a third term.
Stoller officially endorsed Arellano for the seat Feb. 22.
There is no Democratic Party candidate.
In an interview with Shaw Local News Network shortly after his win, Arellano said he is eager to get to work and is looking forward to getting to know the residents of the 12 counties that make up the 37th District.
He described the election outcome as an exciting and humbling experience.
“The work is just beginning,” he said, adding that party labels are worn in the time running up to an election, “but once you take the oath, you’re serving everybody. As I prepare for the job, that is my mentality.”
Arellano faced Tim Yager and Chris Bishop for the GOP nomination to represent the 37th District, which includes all of Whiteside and Lee counties, most of Bureau County, and portions of DeKalb, Henry, La Salle, Marshall, Ogle, Peoria, Rock Island, Stark and Woodford counties.
Locally, Arellano received more than 50% of the vote in Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties.
In Lee County, Arellano received 55.16% of the votes, with 2,084. Bishop received 1,009 to Yager’s 685 votes.
Arellano received 52.64% of the Whiteside County vote, with 1,772 to Yager’s 1,155 and Bishop’s 439.
In Ogle County, Arellano received 52.2% of the vote. He garnered 1,328 votes to Yager’s 776 and Bishop’s 439.
Ogle County coroner
In the GOP race for Ogle County coroner, Christie Cox came out ahead with a slim lead over Chad Horner. With all precincts reporting, Cox received 3,812 votes, or 50.68%, over Horner’s 3,709, which is 49.32% of the vote.
Cox and Horner each were seeking the nomination to fill the office that will become vacant after current Coroner Lou Finch’s term concludes this year. Finch chose not to run for reelection.
There is no Democrat running for the seat.
Ogle County sales tax referendum
In Ogle County, a measure to approve a new sales tax of 1% for schools, school resource officers and mental health professionals failed. About 70% of those who turned out at the polls voted against the measure. Unofficial vote totals were 6,228 votes against the referendum to 2,729 votes for the measure.
Lee County Board
Michael J. Koppien, Ronald Gascoigne and Paula Meyer ran for the Republican nomination to fill two District 1 seats on the Lee County Board. With all 13 precincts reporting, Koppien had received 600 votes, Gascoigne received 542 and Meyer garnered 404.
Ogle County Board
Only 30 votes separated Republicans Ron Kern and Dan Janes in the Republican primary race to fill a District 5 seat on the Ogle County Board. With 100% of precincts reporting, Janes was the top vote-getter at 576 votes, or 51.34% of the vote, to Kern’s 546, which equals 48.66% of all votes cast.