Updated: added information on a number of county and city races and issues.
Voters in Tuesday’s election had more to consider than just statewide races and seats in Congress. There were county and municipal candidates and referenda as well.
Countywide referenda include the Boone County question on funding a new animal services facility and a sales tax increase in Livingston, Lee, Whiteside and Carroll counties to fund school facilities, electric power aggregation in Lee County and in Kendall County.
Several school districts have ballot issues, including the Rockford School District request to use building funds to construct one or more new schools; at-large representation questions in the Belvidere, Paw Paw, and Durand school districts.
There also are questions on funding ambulance services, road departments and much more.
To see how these and other measures fared, click on the county name in the following list to view the results on the web.
Here are some additional results:
Control of the DeKalb County Board is now in the hands of Democrats. Balance shifted for the first time in eight years as voters favored Democrats, giving them a 13 to 11 advantage.
Sycamore residents voted to increase their property taxes to support their park systems. The tax hike will go to fund the Sycamore Park District’s long range plan, which includes a new community center and trail expansion.
Winnebago County will have its first Republican sheriff in 40 years. Gary Caruana defeated Democrat Bob Springer. Sheriff Dick Meyers is retiring after 17 years in the position and nearly half a century in law enforcement.
The Rockford School District will be able to move ahead with its massive school improvement plan. A commanding 74% of voters approved a referendum that gives the district permission to build new schools with funds from a 2012 referendum, instead of just refurbishing old schools.
Boone County will get a new animal services building, thanks to the passage of a tax hike. The current building has been cited by the federal government several times for safety violations.
The city of Dixon is changing its government. By an overwhelming margin, voters decided to switch to a city manager system. The city council will hire a city manager. The change was prompted by the Rita Crundwell embezzlement scandal.
