Illinois And Local Race Updates From Illinois Public Media

Champaign County Unoffical Results From County Clerk Gordy Hulten

November 2016 General Election Unofficial Results can be found here

Scott Bennett Called Winner of Illinois Senate District 52

Incumbent Scott Bennett of Champaign has been called the winner of the Illinois 52nd Senate District over Michael P. Madigan, 60.8% to 39.2%.

Champaign Unit 4 Schools Report Referendum Passed

With all 53 precincts reporting, the Champaign Unit 4 Bond issue passed, 66-to-34 percent. So did Champaign County measures to create an office of county executive (50-to-49 percent), and the method of selection for county board chair (68-to-32 percent.)
 
Former county clerk and Republican Mark Shelden edged political newcomer Matthew Duco 51-to-49-percent, in the race for Champaign County Recorder.  Incumbent County Auditor, Republican John Farney, defeated George Danos by less than 200 votes.

AP Calls Illinois 13th For Rodney Davis; In Illinois’s 52nd Senate District - Candidates Hold Leads In Different Parts of District

In race for Illinois’ 52nd Senate District, each candidate holds an edge in one of the two counties covering that area.
 
Champaign Democrat and incumbent Scott Bennett holds the lead over Republican Urbana Alderman Michael P. Madigan in Champaign County, 66 to 34-percent with 45 of 86 precincts reporting.  In Vermilion County, Madigan holds a 56-to-44 percent edge with 39 of 55 precincts reporting.

Champaign County Referendum and Local Races

With 27 of 118 precincts counted, "yes" votes for the Champaign Unit 4 bond referendum are leading, 65-to 35-percent. The Champaign County referendum that changes how a county board chair is selected is winning 67-to-33 percent.
 
The "no" votes have the edge in the Champaign County measure to elect a countywide executive, 51-to-48-percent, and the sales tax increase to fund facilities projects is losing, 68-to-32 percent.
 
Incumbent Julia Rietz is leading in the race for Champaign County State’s Attorney, 61-to-39-percent over George Vargas.  Matthew Duco is edging former county clerk Mark Shelden in the race for Recorder of Deeds, 51-to-48-percent.  Incumbent County Auditor, Republican John Farney, is trailing Democrat George Danos 54-to-46-percent.

Tammy Duckworth Wins Illinois Senate Seat From Incumbent Mark Kirk

(AP 8:06)

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth has unseated Illinois Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.
 
Duckworth won her bid Tuesday, a boon for the Democrats' bid to regain control of the chamber.
 
The second-term congresswoman from Hoffman Estates previously served as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and in a leadership role with the federal VA. She also lost both of her legs in Iraq when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
 
Kirk campaigned for a second term in the left-leaning state as an independent voice and was a sharp critic of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
 
The former congressman from Highland Park suffered a stroke in 2012, but returned to Washington a year later.

AP Calls Illinois For Hillary Clinton

Democrat Hillary Clinton has won the presidential contest in her home state of Illinois, defeating Republican Donald Trump in her bid to become the nation's first woman commander in chief.
 
Clinton topped the wealthy New York businessman on Tuesday to pick up Illinois' 20 electoral votes.
 
Her victory marks the seventh consecutive presidential election in which Illinois has supported the Democratic candidate. The state last voted for a Republican presidential candidate during George H.W. Bush's landslide victory in 1988.
 
Clinton was born in Chicago and raised in the suburb of Park Ridge.

Early Voting Results From Champaign County Clerk

With early voting results in, the Champaign Unit 4 bond issue is leading thus far, 65-percent to 35-percent. Incumbent Julia Rietz has an early lead in the race for Champaign County State's Attorney, 63-to 37-percent. In the race for Champaign County Auditor, George Danos leads John Farney 56-percent to 43-percent.

Republican Donald Trump Has Won Indiana And Kentucky While Democrat Hillary Clinton Has Won Vermont

(AP 6:00 PM)

Trump was awarded Kentucky's eight electoral votes and Indiana's 11. Vermont gives Clinton three. These are the first states to be decided Tuesday in the 2016 general election.

The wins were expected. Vermont has voted for a Democrat every election since 1988, while Kentucky has gone Republican every cycle since 2000.Indiana is normally a Republican stronghold but went for President Barack Obama in 2008.

The Republicans captured it again in 2012 and Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is the state's governor.

Trump topped Democrat Hillary Clinton to become the 12th Republican to carry Indiana in the last 13 presidential elections.
 
Neither candidate paid much attention to Indiana during the campaign. Trump essentially clinched the Republican nomination with his victory in Indiana's May primary.

Early Voting Up In Illinois

(AP 6:34 PM)

The number of Illinois voters who cast ballots before Election Day has far surpassed records from previous years.

The Illinois State Board of Elections released totals Tuesday showing thatover 1.7 million residents voted early.

The number, which counted through Monday, includes those who cast early ballots in person, sent them by mail or used grace period registration, which lets people register and vote at the same time.

The vast majority of people who voted before Election Day - nearly 1.4 million - cast in-person ballots at polls.

Compared to past presidential contests, over 1.3 million people voted before the 2008 election and over 1.5 million did in 2012.

In Chicago, roughly 400,000 people voted ahead Tuesday's election, with over 325,000 early ballots cast in person. That bested the city's previous record of 260,000 in 2008.