Republican Sweep in All Contested Kankakee County Board Races

Every Republican candidate running for a seat on the Kankakee County Board in the Tuesday, November 5, General Election was a winner. In the District 2 race between Republican Denise Turner and Democrat Marta Perales, Turner won claiming 71.90 percent of the vote. In the 6^th District race between Republican Ryan Marion and Independent Ryan McHeffrey, Marion was the victor getting the nod from 61.84 percent of the voters. In  the 12^th District, Republican Robert Lowey defeated Democrat Araceli Sharper getting 78.12 percent of the vote.

In the 14^th District, Republican Joseph Swanson got 52.94 percent of the votes, while Democrat Gary Ciaccio lost with 47.06 percent. In District 16, Republican Matt Alexander Hildebrand received 62.18 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Jamie Bosman’s 37.82 percent. In the 22nd District, incumbent Republican Antonio Carrico retained his seat with 53.80 percent of the vote compared to Democrat Al Whitnon’s 46.20 percent.

In a county where voters have been reluctant to approve increased taxes, two referenda that would do just that passed. Voters in the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School taxing district approved the issuance of $62 million in bonds for building projects that includes the removal of portable classrooms and replacing them with brick and mortar structures. Bourbonnais voters also approved a property tax increase for fire protection and ambulance services in the Bourbonnais Fire Protection District. The approval will raise the annual tax on a single family home valued at $100,000 by $70, and an additional amount equal to about 0.2 percent.

In other results from the November 5 election, State Sen. Patrick Joyce retained his seat beating Republican challenger Phil Nagel by a very slim margin. Joyce received 50.48 percent of the vote, while Nagel got 49.52. However, Joyce had a higher final margin of victory by getting more votes in his 40th State Senate District’s Democrat strongholds to the north of Kankakee County. Also, 79^th District State Rep. Jackie Haas will return to Springfield for another two years, getting 63.26 percent of the Kankakee County vote, allowing her a margin large enough to counter more Democrat returns than challenger Billy Morgan is likely to receive in portions of the district located in Will and Grundy Counties.