2012 Illinois Primary Election Wrap-Up

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Temps hovered around 80 degrees during the day of the March 20 primary elections and even the unseasonably warm weather couldnt encourage voters to head out to the polls.

Two precincts on Chicagos South Side both reported low voter turnouts. David Blair, an election judge at the polling place located at 75th and Ingleside told the Chicago Citizen that 74 people or 20 percent out of his precincts 382 registered voters turned out.

John Hamblet, election judge at Avalon Park District told the Chicago Citizen that about 190 or 30 percent of his precincts 600 registered voters showed up.

Hamblet shook his head and said it was a very, very low turnout.

Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections e-mailed the Chicago Citizen a brief analysis of the dismal voter turnout results. He said the turnout was approximately 24 percent, the lowest ever for a Presidential Primary.

That reflects the fact that roughly 90 percent of our voters pull Democratic ballots, and those ballots featured a Presidential candidate with no challenger and no other statewide contest, such as a U.S. Senate race, Allen said in the e-mail. The top races tended to be judicial, which are important, but do not excite voters. By their very nature, judicial elections feature campaigns where the candidates are limited to talking about their temperament, experience, bar ratings and explicitly not how they might rule in different situations.

As for national primary elections, President Barack Obama did not face a challenger in the presidential primary. However Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Illinois Republican Presidential Primary early in the evening around 7:30 p.m. beating out his main rival Rick Santorum.

Illinois primary election saw many hotly contested races including a vacancy on the Illinois Supreme Court.

If she had been elected, Joy Virginia Cunningham would have been the first Black female on the states highest court. She came in second to sitting appointed Supreme Court Judge Mary Jane Theis who won 46 percent of the vote. In November, Theis faces Republican challenger James Gerard Riley.

At Chicago Citizen press time, longtime 1st Congressional District leader Bobby Rush led by 89 percent against a pack of five candidates who vied for his position. He will face Republican Donald E. Peloquin in the fall.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Jesse Jackson, Jr. retained his seat in Washington D.C. beating out Debbie Halvorson who formerly represented the 11th Congressional District. Jackson will be challenged by Republican Brian Woodworth in November.

Constituents in the 7th Congressional District on Chicagos West Side re-elected Danny K. Davis, Jr. in a landslide victory against Jacques A. Conway. Davis won by 87 percent.

Among the county races, Dorothy Brown, incumbent Clerk of the Circuit Court retained her seat which was challenged by Chicago alderman Ricardo Munoz. Brown won with 69 percent of the vote.

Kari Steele, a local chemist will fill one of the three commissioner posts of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board. Debra Shore, incumbent retained her position and newcomer Patrick Daley Thompson joins the county-wide agency.

Former Chicago Bears linebacker, Napoleon Harris won by a narrow margin of 43 percent in the 15th District state senate race. Harris will replace Sen. James Meeks who decided not to run for re-election last year. The 15th district stretches from Chicagos South Side to the south suburbs.

At Chicago Citizen press time, the hotly contested 26th District state representative race was tight with newcomer Christian L. Mitchellslightly leading businessman Kenny Johnson. Mitchell led with51.84 percent (6,422 votes) and Johnson came in a close second with 48.16 percent (5,965 votes.) The district encompasses the citys Southeast side.

The General Election will be held Nov. 6.

Other Winners:

State Senate

13th District Kwame Raoul

4th District Kimberly Lightford

14th District Emil Jones III

17th District Donne E. Trotter (unopposed)

State Representative

8th District La Shawn K. Ford

25th District Barbara Flynn Currie

27th District Monique D. Davis

34th District Elgie Sims, Jr.