Staley-Ferry Thanks 'Organized Labor' For Clerk Victory

.JOLIET, IL - With unofficial vote totals, the projected winner in the Democratic primary for Will County Clerk was Lauren Staley-Ferry. With 100 percent of Will County precincts reporting, Staley-Ferry had captured about 58.5 percent of the vote against her opponent, Denise Mushro-Rumchak, who received 41.5 percent of the votes. Staley-Ferry took to her Facebook page to thank her voters for their support.

"Thank you!" she wrote. "Thank you to my family! Thank you to Organized Labor. Thank you to the Local Leaders who have supported me and mentored me and most importantly believed in me! to my friends and family who have made this possible, I can not thank you enough for everything! (Now) it's on to more doors and on to November!"

The Will County Clerk's race was the most closely watched in county government. Long-term officeholder, Nancy Schultz Voots, chose not to seek re-election in the March 2018 primary. Based on unofficial vote totals, Staley-Ferry netted 28,282 votes while Mushro-Rumchak drew 20,043 votes. The margin of victory was considerable, 8,239 votes.

The two Democratic candidates on the March 20 election ballot were:

• Lauren Staley-Ferry, a member of the Will County Board, from Joliet.
• Denise Mushro-Rumchak, longtime clerk for Lockport Township, from Crest Hill.

The Democratic face-off became heated last year after 2002 forgery charges out of Arizona against Staley-Ferry came to light.

The winner of the Democratic primary will compete in the November general election against Laurie McPhillips, a Plainfield resident. She was the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot, getting 33,537 votes running unopposed.

RESULTS

Democrats

With 100 percent of Precincts Reporting:

Lauren Staley-Ferry – 58.5%

Denise Mushro-Rumchak – 41.5%

On the Republican side, there was only one candidate:

Laurie McPhillips – 100%

RELATED: Will County Races: 2018 Primary Results

RELATED: Illinois Primary Election 2018 Races

Image of Lauren Staley-Ferry provided to Patch