Incumbent McHenry County Board chairman trailing to Republican newcomer, early results show

Republican newcomer Mike Buehler of Crystal Lake was leading with 53% of the vote as of 10:20 p.m. Tuesday over incumbent Jack Franks, D-Marengo, potentially on track to become the second-ever elected McHenry County Board chairman, with thousands of ballots still to be counted.

According to the McHenry County Clerk’s Office, just more than 161,000 registered voters cast ballots so far this election and as many as 18,000 mail-in ballots could still be returned. As of 10:20 p.m., more than 157,000 ballots had been counted and the results released online.

All mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 are eligible to be counted, County Clerk Joe Tirio said in an interview last week. The election's final results in McHenry County will be communicated on Nov. 18.

In the race for McHenry County auditor, incumbent Republican Shannon Teresi is on track to beat out Libertarian James Young, leading with 74% of the vote, according to Tuesday night's unofficial results.

Republican Patrick Kenneally was reelected as the county's state's attorney in an uncontested race.

Republican incumbent Katherine Keefe was leading with 60% of the vote over Democratic challenger Renee Overlee to serve as the next McHenry County circuit clerk, according to the unofficial results.

The McHenry County Board is made up of 24 members representing six districts. Voters picked two candidates to represent the district where they live, with half of the 24 seats up this election.

District 1, which sits in the southeastern corner of the county, currently is represented by Tom Wilbeck, R-Barrington Hills, and Yvonne Barnes, R-Cary, who are running for reelection against Democrat Theresa Meshes.

The race, as of 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, had Wilbeck with 35% of votes, Barnes with 32% and Meshes with 32%, according to unofficial results.

In District 2, which runs from Algonquin Road to Crystal Lake Avenue in the north, incumbents Jeffrey Thorsen, R-Crystal Lake, and John Reinert, R-Crystal Lake, faced off against Democratic candidate Jessica Phillips.

As of Tuesday night, Phillips had 35% of the votes, Thorsen 34% and Reinert 31%, according to unofficial results.

District 3 runs from Cherry Valley Road in the west to the Lake County border. Incumbent Joseph Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake, faced off against two new candidates, Republican Mike Shorten and Democrat Tanya Jindrich.

The race, as of Tuesday night, had Gottemoller with 37% of the votes, Shorten with 32% and Jindrich with 31%, according to unofficial results.

In District 4, which covers Richmond and Burton townships and most of McHenry Township, incumbent candidates Kay Bates, R-McHenry, and Stephen Doherty, R-McHenry, were reelected in an uncontested race.

District 5, which covers Dorr Township and the central part of Grafton Township, is represented by Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills, and Mike Skala, R-Huntley. They ran against Lynn M. Gray, a Democrat, and Damon Hill, a Republican.

As of Tuesday night, Skala led with 30% of votes, Yensen 27%, Hill had 22% and Gray 21%, according to unofficial results.

In District 6, which spans Chemung and Hebron townships down to Riley and Coral townships, James Kearns, R-Huntley, is the only incumbent running for reelection against Nancy Glissman and Larry Spaeth, both Democrats, and Tracie Von Bergen, a Republican.

The race, as of Tuesday night, had Kearns with 32% of votes, Von Bergen with 29%, Glissman with 22% and Spaeth with 17%, according to unofficial results.