Unlike its southern neighbor, Wisconsin has a gubernatorial recall process that doesn’t involve the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Wisconsin voters Tuesday handed Republican Gov. Scott Walker the right to finish his term, and handed a defeat to public-sector unions that fought his initiative to curb government workers’ collective bargaining rights. Of the three gubernatorial recall elections in U.S. history, Walker was the first governor to survive.

Predictably, the chairmen of McHenry County’s Republican and Democratic parties saw different messages sent Tuesday by Wisconsin’s voters, and different consequences for Illinois and Washington, D.C. in the November election.