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Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant kept a lead in her bid for reelection but it narrowed once all precincts were counted on Tuesday.
Democrat Bertino-Tarrant had 51.2% of the vote in her contest against former Will County Board Member Charles “Chuck” Maher.
The numbers with all precincts reporting were 157,542 votes for Bertino-Tarrant and 150,423 for Maher, a Republican from Naperville.
The last count on Tuesday did not include late-arriving mail-in votes and provisional ballots that will be counted in the next two weeks.
Bertino-Tarrant had a lead through the night holding roughly 53% of the vote until the final precincts were counted late.
Advised that her lead would hold up, Bertino-Tarrant commented on the election totals while her margin was still at 53%.
“I’m very grateful to the people of Will County who supported me,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “This never grows old. I’m always grateful to the people who help me get elected.”
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Bertino-Tarrant in her campaign pointed to financial stability in county government and economic growth in Will County as she made a claim to strong leadership in her first term.
She also has faced controversies, however, with a county board that frequently has had showdowns between Democrats and Republicans, a situation that intensified after the last election in 2022 that created a board more evenly divided between the two parties.
“I’m not going to lie,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “It’s been a difficult two years.”
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Maher, who had previously served on the county board for 16 years, raised questions about Bertino-Tarrant’s leadership and tried to portray her as being at odds with residents on certain issues.
Maher tried to chip away at Bertino-Tarrant early, joining the fray over a controversial plan to expand 143rd Street in Homer Township that is opposed by local residents. Bertino-Tarrant has been able to rely on strong support in the Joliet area where she has been winning elections for years.
Bertino-Tarrant was a state senator before becoming county executive and is one of the most recognized political figures and governmental leaders in the county.