Polls have closed in Will County: These are 3 races to watch

With the polls closed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Will County, here are three races to keep an eye on as the votes roll in.

1. Will County executive

Incumbent Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Shorewood Democrat, is running against Charles “Chuck” Maher, a Naperville Republican, for control of the Will County Executive’s Office.

Bertino-Tarrant was sworn in as the county executive in 2020 following the death of Larry Walsh Sr., who served as the county executive for 16 years. Maher is a former member of the Will County Board.

Will, Champaign and Cook counties are the only counties to have a chief executive officer in Illinois.

2. Will County clerk

Michelle Stiff, a Democrat who is president of the Joliet Township High School District 204 board, is running against Annette Parker, a Crest Hill Republican who sits on the Will County Board.

Both candidates are seeking to finish the remaining two years of the four-year term for former Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, who now goes by Lauren O’Hara. She left her office in the middle of her term last summer for a higher paying job as city clerk for the City of Joliet.

Charles B. Pelkie Jr., former chief of staff under O’Hara, has been serving as the interim county clerk.

3. Will County coroner

Robert Enright, a Joliet Republican, is running against Laurie Summers, a Crete Democrat who’s been the Will County coroner since the retirement of Patrick O’Neil in 2020.

Democrats have controlled the coroner’s office for 36 years. Enright, a funeral director, is seeking to make the coroner’s office more transparent and more accessible for funeral homes. Summers is seeking to continue growing the capabilities of the coroner’s office and address the underlying conditions of drug-related deaths.

Summers has counted last year’s opening of the new Will County Coroner building in Joliet as one of her biggest accomplishments. Enright said he wants to make sure “all employees are treated the way they should be treated, especially if they are contracted union members.”