DuPage County General Election: New Mayors, Important Referenda

DUPAGE COUNTY, IL — Voters in DuPage County headed to the polls on April 2 to cast their votes for mayor, village trustees, city council members, school board members and more.

Roughly 16,852 people in DuPage County voted early and another 4,171 voted by mail, elections officials said Tuesday morning. By the time the polls closed, about 95,000 more people had showed up to vote. That may seem like an impressive number, but it's less than 15 percent of the county's registered voters.

MAYORAL RACES

DuPage County had three contested mayoral races and both Downers Grove and Wheaton ended up with new mayor-elects before the night was over. In Naperville, incumbent Steve Chirico held his ground against challenger Rocky Caylor.

Downers Grove Mayoral Race

Downers Grove Mayor Martin Tully, who has served since 2011, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. This means Downers Grove residents elected their first new mayor in almost a decade. The race included two current village commissioners, Robert Barnett and Margaret Earl, and former village commissioner and state representative David Olsen.

Barnett as emerged the projected winner, according to vote totals from the DuPage County Election Commission.

• Margaret "Marge" Earl
• Robert T. Barnett
• David S. Olsen

Wheaton Mayoral Race

With Mayor Steve Gresk stepping down after more than a decade, Wheaton chose between two city council members who are seeking election as mayor.

The projected winner, Phil Suess has served on the Wheaton City Council since 2005 and also serves as the chairman of the DuPage County Water Commission's Financial Committee. Suess, who has graduate degrees in business administration and economics, has lived in Wheaton for 30 years. He has a wife and three children.

Suess defeated John R. Prendiville, who is serving his third term on the Wheaton City Council,

Naperville Mayoral Race

Mayor Steve Chirico, who was elected in 2015 to become the city's first new mayor in two decades, again emerged victorious, according to unofficial totals in Tuesday's election. Chirico faced a challenge from Rocky Caylor, a former Marine and local entrepreneur who has lived in the city for nearly 30 years.

Propositions
One of the most highly watched propositions in Tuesdays election had been Hinsdale District 86's $140 million referendum question. The school board, which recently eliminated football, wrestling and cheerleading for the 2019-20 school year, would use the funds to make improvements within the school district.

Voters in Hinsdale voted yes to the referendum question Tuesday.

Lisle District 200 was another school district facing a big referendum question. The majority of voters in Lisle chose to answer "no" to the question of reducing tax levies within the district to the tune of nearly $15 million.