Wednesday, November 14, 2012
DuPage County—once a Republican stronghold—saw several Democratic victories on Election Day, leaving the GOP to question the impact of redistricting.
While Democrats across DuPage County celebrate several Election Day victories—including the re-election of President Barack Obama—the DuPage GOP is heading back to the drawing board. The votes in DuPage County, once known as a Republican stronghold, closely mirrored those of the nation Nov. 6, with 49.57 percent voting for President Barack Obama and 48.54 percent voting for Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to unofficial results. In 2008, 54.72 percent of DuPage County voters supported Obama, while 43.93 percent cast their vote for Sen. John McCain. "I think this year's DuPage County numbers show that Obama's popularity in 2008 wasn't a fluke," said Bob Peickert, chairman of the DuPage County Democrats. "The president may not …
Friday, November 9, 2012
The Burr Ridge mayor who had a narrow unofficial victory Tuesday night in his District 3 DuPage County Board race said he still wants to hold both offices simultaneously.
Written by Joe O'Donnell. Gary Grasso said he does not plan on stepping down as Burr Ridge's mayor if his DuPage County Board victory Tuesday night becomes official, even after DuPage voters overwhelmingly supported an advisory referendum on the ballot discouraging politicians from holding multiple elected offices at the same time. "If the results hold, I intend to hold both offices," Grasso said Wednesday morning. At the end of the night Tuesday, Grasso held an 11-vote lead over Sharon E. Bryant (33,286 votes to 33,275) for the last of three District 3 spots on the DuPage County Board. The father of six, according to the Daily Herald's candidate profile, said he's been told it might be two weeks before all provisional ballots are counted …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Peter Roskam wins the 2012 General Election in Illinois' 6th Congressional District.
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) won re-election in Illinois' 6th Congressional District Tuesday over Leslie Coolidge after getting 30,864 more votes than the his challenger, with all precincts reporting. Roskam said he plans to be a part of turning the economy around, and his work on the House Ways and Means Committee will be a platform to do so. "Our tax code is a disaster, and most Americans recognize that it’s a disaster," he said Tuesday at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton. "And most Americans are very open to trying to reform the code." He said the House will begin to put together a "very substantive" tax reform effort focused on making the U.S. tax code the most competitive in the world. "If we do that we’ll be in a much better footing …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The Republican incumbent will now travel the state to seek advice on a possible run for governor in 2014.
State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) will serve another term in the Illinois Senate after a convincing win in Tuesday's General Election over Democratic candidate A. Ghani of Oak Brook in the race for Illinois' 24th State Senate District. Dillard won by getting 64,920 of 99,080 DuPage votes Tuesday from the 24th, which spans across the westerns suburbs and includes, among other towns, Clarendon Hills, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Hinsdale, Lisle, Lombard, Oak Brook, Western Springs, Westmont and Wheaton. Dillard also had 2,429 of 3,209 Cook County votes, with all Cook precincts reporting. The Republican senator has represented the 24th since he was first elected in 1994. "I thank the voters for returning me to Springfield, where I’ll work harder …
McCormick Place is filled with celebration as the race is called.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
LIVE from McCormick Place: Patch reports live from the Chicago celebration. Comments on this post are set for pre-publication review.
Naperville scientist Foster wins 11th District seat in bid to return to Congress.
Seven-term Congresswoman Judy Biggert was unseated by Democrat Bill Foster Tuesday night, with Foster snagging 58 percent of the vote with 92 precincts reporting. Around 10 p.m., Biggert conceded, saying she had called to congratulate her opponent. "It has been a long and hard-fought race, but tonight the voters have spoken," she said. "When the new congressional districts were drawn in Springfield to elect more Democrats, they thought I would shy away from a tough race in a district tailor-made for my opponent. ... We turned what was supposed to be a Democrat slam-dunk into one of the most competitive races in the country." READ MORE: Foster, meanwhile, rejoiced not only in his win, but in the re-election of President Barack Obama. "…
What will 2012 ballots in northern Illinois show about President Obama's support at home?
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Updated at 3 a.m., Chicago time By Dennis Robaugh After NBC and CNN projected President Obama's re-election, the president sent a message shortly thereafter on Twitter at 10:14 saying simply, "This happened because of you. Thank you." Illinois, of course, was never in play. Our state's 20 electoral votes were stuck in the president's back pocket as far back as his inauguration in 2008. But in 2008's historic election, President Obama carried every collar county in northern Illinois. In 2012, the president narrowly lost out to Mitt Romney in Kane County, Kendall County and McHenry County, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Voter turnout again was very strong. Local polling places even reported lines at 6 a.m. with voters waiting to get…
Find coverage of the various congressional matchups throughout the Patch network.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
While many of northern Illinois' congressional races left little in the way of doubt, a few provided down-to-the-wire drama and competitiveness. Judy Biggert and Bill Foster were in a dead heat as Election Day approached, with Foster emerging victorious, according to unofficial totals. And Joe Walsh and Tammy Duckworth engaged in a bitter mudfest, with Walsh being tossed out by voters. Jesse Jackson Jr. didn't campaign at all, citing health issues, yet won-reelection, and Adam Kinzinger, Dan Lipinski, Danny Davis and Peter Roskam didn't feel they had to. Coverage of the various congressional races can be viewed throughout the Patch network.
Obama supporters from around the suburbs and the city of Chicago waited to see the president during an election night rally in McCormick Place.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Waiting for the president to arrive at McCormick Place on election night, supporter Ignacio Ayala of Plainfield said he hoped the night would bring some of the same excitement as the rally in Grant Park in 2008. "I hope it's the same," said Ayala. "That was big." More than 10,000 people are expected to rally around President Barack Obama as he and his campaign members await election results tonight. Like Ayala, other Obama supporters said they, too, were hopeful that the election results would bring cause for celebration. Elvin and Nicole Knox, from Homewood, said they had been checking predictions on CNN and Politico all day. Nicole said she had voted for Bush in 2004, and her husband said he had voted for Bush or had not voted at all. …
About 15 minutes after the polls closed, news media sources put Illinois in the Obama column, giving the president 20 electoral votes.
President Barack Obama won Illinois’ 20 electoral votes on Tuesday, defeating Republican Mitt Romney. Illinois, of course, was never in play. The only visit the president made to his home state late in the campaign came Oct. 25, when he returned to the South Side to cast an early ballot at the Martin Luther King Community Center. Obama is the first president to ever vote early in a presidential election. The Wall St. Journal and the Associated Press called the state about 15 minutes after the polls closed. The president's handling of the economy is a major factor in many voters' decision this year. "This election bears serious significance for our future," said Sheila Brady of Orland Park, outside her Fernway Elementary School polling …
Lindy Sullivan
4:57 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012
Grasso wanted to be the County Chair two years ago and was rejected in the Republican primary. Newcomer Sharon Bryant is 12 votes from knocking him off the "I want to be Cty Bd member and Mayor" pedestal. Let's see what happens here. more ›