Newton, Rudd Win Coroner's Race

Update,  9:14 p.m.

Unofficial results show that Democrat Tom Rudd of Lake Forest has taken the victory over incumbent Artis Yancey of Waukegan in the race for Lake County Coroner, with all 415 precincts reporting.

On the Republican side, Steve Newton of Antioch beat Howard Cooper of Bannockburn.

The totals do not include provisional or late-arriving vote by mail ballots.

Update,  8:23 p.m.

Democrat Tom Rudd of Lake Forest leads incumbent Artis Yancey of Waukegan in the race for Lake County Coroner, with 400 of 415 precincts reporting.

On the Republican side, Steve Newton of Antioch is ahead of Howard Cooper of Bannockburn.

Update, 8:12 p.m.

With 371 of 415 precincts reporting, Democrat Tom Rudd of Lake Forest is maintaining his lead over incumbent Artis Yancey of Waukegan in the Lake County Coroner Race.

On the Republican side, Steve Newton of Antioch is ahead of Howard Cooper of Bannockburn.

Update, 8 p.m.

With 330 of 415 precincts reporting, Democrat Tom Rudd of Lake Forest is maintaining his lead over incumbent Artis Yancey of Waukegan in the Lake County Coroner Race.

On the Republican side, Steve Newton of Antioch is ahead of Howard Cooper of Bannockburn.

7:20 p.m.

With 153 of 415 precincts reporting, Democrat Tom Rudd of Lake Forest has a slight lead over incumbent Artis Yancey of Waukegan in the Lake County Coroner Race.

On the Republican side, Steve Newton of Antioch is ahead of Howard Cooper of Bannockburn.

Here's a look at the candidates:

Democrat Thomas Rudd of Lake Forest has never held elected office, but ran for the Lake County Sanitary District twice and lost. He is passionate about moving the county from a coroner's office to a medical examiner's system. He wants to "return professionalism to the coroner's office." He also wants "individual death investigators to be certified by the American Board of Medical Legal Death Investigators."

Democrat Artis Yancey of Waukegan served in law enforcement in Waukegan for more than 20 years, including a stint as chief of police. He was appointed coroner in April of last year when Dr. Richard Keller resigned after accepting a plea deal over his involvement in the death of a 30-year-old Lindenhurst resident. Yancey said since taking over as coroner, his team has "revamped the evidence property collections, offered uniforms to our officers for more professionalism, we use a new computerized tracking system to assist in case management, and we have discontinued the ill-conceived policy of not allowing citizens to view the decedents while in the coroner's care."

Republican Steve Newton of Antioch worked in the Lake County Coroner's office for seven years, having been hired as a deputy coroner. He says he was "forced out" by Richard Keller. "Not only was I still conducting investigations, I was also supervising the investigations, the investigators, assisting with the budget preparation in the office and other administrative aspects. I feel the coroner’s office has gone downhill in the past few years. I believe it’s in the process of being righted, and I would like to be the person to complete that task."

Republican Howard Cooper of Bannockburn has practiced dentistry in Gurnee for 30 years. He has been involved in forensics for more than 20 years. He performed forensic work during the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. "Once elected, I will make death prevention a priority. This is very important to me. I want to get into the county's high schools and talk to the kids about drinking and driving, texting and driving, suicide, drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors." He also wants to bring compassion to the coroner's office.