Democrat Staley-Ferry Wins Will County Clerk

JOLIET, IL - The Democrats have regained control of the Will County Clerk's Office as Joliet Democrat Lauren Staley-Ferry appears to have defeated Republican Laurie McPhillips of Plainfield by about 6,000 voters, according to unofficial vote totals. Back in March, Staley-Ferry won by a convincing margin, at least 8,200 votes, in the Democratic primary against Denise Mushro-Rumchak, a Lockport politician.

McPhillips had the support of the current long-time officeholder Nancy Schultz-Voots and Jan Gould, but the voters of Will County weren't persuaded by their endorsements. Tuesday night was a strong night for Democratic candidates on the election in Will County ballot and that helped propel Staley-Ferry to victory.

She had tremendous financial support poured into her campaign from the local labor unions.

With 100 percent of the precincts reported, Staley-Ferry was leading McPhillips 122,852 votes to 116,843, a lead of just 2.5 points.

In the March Republican primary, McPhillips ran unopposed. The Will County Clerk's race is one of the most hotly watched local government races on the Will County general election ballot. Long-time officeholder Nancy Schultz Voots chose not to run for re-election. Schultz Voots had served in the office since 2002.

Prior to announcing her candidacy for clerk in 2017, Staley-Ferry has been serving on the Will County Board. She has cited her experience in the private sector and her experience on the county board in preparing her to take on the role of county clerk. "I am proud to announce my candidacy for Will County Clerk, and I am ready to continue the tradition of fair elections, that are run efficiently and effectively," Staley-Ferry said in a press release last year.

Election Results

• Staley-Ferry: 51.25%
• McPhillips: 48.75%

NOTE: Tuesday's results are unofficial and do not include provisional and late absentee ballots.

According to her candidate bio, Staley-Ferry is a lifelong Joliet resident who lives with her husband, Ed, and their son Matthew. She is active in several Joliet-area organizations including the Zonta Club of Joliet, Wish Upon a Star, Joliet Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity.

Staley-Ferry also had a large campaign war chest thanks to donations from several labor union groups. She was the preferred candidate of Will County's labor unions.

As for McPhillips, she captured two critical political endorsements heading into the election.

Schultz Voots announced her endorsement of McPhillips to succeed her as Will County Clerk. McPhillips also received the endorsement of Voots' predecessor, former County Clerk Jan Gould.

Nancy Schultz Voots said: "Laurie McPhillips has the honesty, experience and ability the citizens of Will County need and expect in their county clerk ... She also is the only candidate to ever manage a countywide office. I enthusiastically ask the voters of Will County to join me in voting for Laurie McPhillips for Will County Clerk."

Jan Gould stated: "Laurie McPhillips is an ideal person to succeed Nancy as County Clerk ... During my tenure she worked closely with the Clerk's office as county board administrator and is well qualified to be our next county clerk. I join Nancy in strongly endorsing her candidacy for Will County Clerk."

McPhilips previously told Patch that "I am the only candidate who has actually managed a countywide office, preparing and implementing multi-million dollar budgets, managing employees, initiating new technology and implementing new laws. I have worked with three county clerks during my tenure at the county, which included working on elections, voter registration and working with Nancy Schultz Voots from the budgeting side to purchase new election equipment. I have also been a voter registrar for over 10 years."

For more, visit the candidate websites:

• Laurie McPhillips
• Lauren Staley-Ferry

More Illinois voting info: Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections

Main image via Lauren Staley-Ferry campaign website