Illinois Valley Times

The final vote tallies show incumbents were the winners Nov. 8 in many legislative races in and around DuPage County.

In the county's only federal race, Tonia Khouri, a Republican candidate for the Illinois 11th District Congressional seat, lost to incumbent Democrat Bill Foster. The mother, business owner and DuPage County Board member garnered 105,762 votes to Foster’s 157,659, amassing 40 percent of the vote.

The district includes parts of Will, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Cook counties, spanning from Chicago’s western suburbs to Aurora and Joliet.

State legislative races also favored incumbents. In House District 81, state Rep. David Olsen (R-Downers Grove), bested his Democratic challenger, Greg Hosé. About 54 percent of voters helped Olsen keep his seat representing parts of DuPage and Will counties.

The 28-year-old was appointed to replace Ron Sandack as the district’s representative in August 2016. Throughout the campaign, Olsen maintained an aggressive stance on the state’s fiscal crisis, living up to his record, which includes rejecting legislative pensions as one of his first acts in office.

State Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) bested Steve Swanson, a Democrat, in a bid to continue representing District 48. Breen captured 30,359 votes — or about 57 percent — compared to Swanson’s 23,079 votes — about 43 percent.

Breen’s district covers all or part of Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Lisle. All three municipalities are in DuPage County. He was first elected in 2014 after he defeated Sandra Pihos, a six-term incumbent, in the Republican primary with 56 percent of the vote. He went on to win the general election against a write-in candidate.

State Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove), who represents the 25th District, held onto his seat over Democratic challenger Corinne Pierog. Oberweis garnered 55 percent of votes in the district that covers parts of Cook, Kane, Dupage and Kendall counties.

A businessman and politician, Oberweis owns Oberweis Dairy in North Aurora. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2012, also facing Pierog in that race. In the Senate, he serves on the Appropriations, Environment, Local Government and Public Health committees.

Running away with 61 percent of the vote, state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) beat her opponent, Democrat Kathleen Carrier, to keep her seat representing District 42 in DuPage County. Ives earned 32,910 votes to Carrier's 20,940. 

Ives served in the Army and has a degree in economics from the U.S. Military Academy. She's worked as an ROTC instructor for Wheaton College, a tax consultant and a bookkeeper. She was first elected to the state Legislature in 2012.

But the good news for Republicans ended there. Seth Lewis, a Republican challenger for the District 23 state Senate seat, narrowly lost to incumbent state Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park).

Cullerton secured his seat for another term with 43,640 votes to Lewis’s 42,852 — a difference of just 788 votes, amounting to a 1 percent margin. During the campaign, Lewis was endorsed for the legislative position because of his demonstrated willingness to vote against spending while serving with the Bartlett Fire Protection District as a trustee. Compared to Cullerton, who voted for unbalanced budgets and voted along party lines, Lewis was a vocal critic of generous public pension packages, despite his wife's position as a school superintendent.

State Rep. Deborah Conroy (D-Villa Park) also kept her seat, besting Heidi Holan, a Republican candidate from Villa Park, to represent District 46, which lies within DuPage County. Conroy secured a victory with about 59 percent of the vote.

Holan campaigned on a platform of upending the status quo in Springfield. She opposed tax increases and supported reforms that would stimulate business growth. Meanwhile, Conroy was criticized for “not demonstrating much independence” from Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

Mike Strick, a Republican candidate for the District 84 state House seat, couldn’t overcome incumbent Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego). Kifowit ran away with 62 percent of the vote. District 84 includes parts of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties.

In an interview after the results came in, Strick said he was disheartened by the outcome that kept a lot of the same legislators in office. A business owner from Naperville, Strick’s campaign called for term limits, a statewide balanced budget, fair mapping, pension reform, funding for education and vital social services, and Madigan’s removal.

Michelle Smith, another promising Republican candidate seeking election to the Senate, lost to incumbent state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood). The Plainfield woman sought to represent District 49, which includes parts of DuPage and Will counties.

Bertino-Tarrant found support from 50,996 voters — about 53 percent of the district. Smith garnered 45,904 votes — about 47 percent.

Smith established her positions on six primary issues, including education, jobs and the economy, pensions, term limits, property taxes and income taxes. As a small business owner, Smith spoke to the regulations, taxes and economic downturn that drive businesses and workers out of the state.

Bertino-Tarrant raised more than $1.5 million for her campaign, much of which was contributed by unions, lobbyists and fellow politicians. Throughout the campaign, Smith pointed to her opponent’s support of unbalanced state budgets put forward by Democratic state leaders and other moves that benefit political insiders at the expense of taxpayers.