Sixteen challengers oust incumbent mayors, village presidents

Precinct-level results now available at voterinfonet.com

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Unofficial election results show 16 challengers upset incumbent mayors and village presidents seeking re-election Tuesday in suburban Cook County, Clerk David Orr said.

There were 67 contested races for mayor and village president in suburban Cook County for the April 7 Consolidated Election, including 15 in which no incumbents appeared and a new candidate was elected.

Incumbent and "acting" village and city leaders defeated challengers in 36 of the 52 races, or 69 percent. In 2005, the rate of incumbent victories was 73.5 percent; 81 percent of sitting mayors and village presidents won in 2001.

Other highlights from Tuesday's election include:

• 62 percent of voters cast ballots on touch screens on Election Day;
• Overall turnout for suburban Cook County was 21 percent, but it many contested areas turnout was much higher;
• The greatest number of voters participated in Oak Lawn (12,127), followed by Palatine (11,030), Evanston (10,319), Arlington Heights (10,279), and Des Plaines (9,595).
• In all 12 municipalities and townships where asked, voters said they did not support Cook County's 1 percent sales tax increase when responding to an advisory referenda;
• A nonbinding referenda in Cicero to create a registry for convicted gang-crime offenders won by the largest margin of victory (93 percent for, 7 percent against) among referendums on the ballot;
• Barrington, Palatine and Hanover townships voted to secede from Cook County in an advisory question.

Precinct-level results available online

Unofficial suburban Cook County precinct level results for the April 7 Presidential Election are now available on voterinfonet.com. Click on "View Precinct," select from the drop-down menu the race of your choice, click on a candidate's name, and then click on the township name.

Late-arriving absentee ballots and validated provisional votes still need to be reviewed. The Clerk's office has until April 28 to certify final results, in accordance with state law. Candidates who were within five percent of winning their contest can request a discovery recount after certification from April 28-May 4.

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