Should 17-Year-Olds be Allowed to Vote?

The House just voted in favor of a bill presented by Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills to allow 17-year-olds the right to vote in primary elections. The Senate had its first reading of the bill Thursday.

A bill proposed by State Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills) to allow 17-year-olds the right to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 by the next general election cleared the House last Wednesday, reported the Daily Herald. The House voted 95-22 in favor of House Bill 226. The Senate had its first reading last Thursday. On her website, Sente states that a group of students from a political science program at Stevenson High School has advocated for this initiative for several years, beginning with her predecessor Kathy Ryg. "Over the next few weeks, myself and Rep. Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein) are planning to speak to students to get them involved in all aspects of passing this bill," stated Sente. "I am hopeful that through our bi-…

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Voter Turnout Low in McHenry County, Area Counties

Area voters reported little to no wait at polling places during Tuesday's local election.

On Tuesday, 16.15 percent of voters made it out to the polls to cast their ballot in this year's local election, according to the McHenry County Clerk's office. The turnout is par for the course for area local elections. Since 2005, turnout in McHenry County has ranged from as low as 12.55 percent of voters casting their ballot in 2011 to as high as 20.25 percent voting in 2005.  Comparably speaking, during last fall's presidential election, 66.21 percent of registered voters made it to the polls.  One upside to the low turnout is that voters in McHenry County reported little to no wait at the polls on Tuesday.  "(There was) no lines—I was only the 25th voter at around 3 p.m. so it's definitely been a slow day," according to a comment on …

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Paul Mulcahy New Village President in Lake in the HIlls

Mulcahy won the village president seat Tuesday night.

Follow Algonquin-LITH Patch on Facebook  — Sign Up for Our E-mail Newsletter After 12 years, Lake in the Hills has a new village president.  Paul Mulcahy, a long-time village board trustee in Lake in the Hills, has been elected to the seat. With 68 percent of the vote in his favor, Mulcahy beat Bill Dustin during Tuesday's election, according to preliminary results. Mulcahy brought in 862 votes compared to Dustin's 398 votes, according to the unofficial results posted Tuesday night.  Mulchay will take the place of outgoing village president Ed Plaza who has served three terms on the village board and whose current term will end in May.  Mulcahy's top priority as village president is to build the economic base of the village, according to a…

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Grafton Township Elections: Kearns to Take Leadership in Troubled Township

Unofficial election results show James Kearns won the Grafton Township Supervisor race.

  James Kearns is Grafton Township's next supervisor, according to preliminary election results from the McHenry County Clerk's office. The supervisor race preliminary totals with 31 out of 31 precincts reporting had Kearns ahead with 1,944 votes or 50.88 percent while Pam Fender had 1,877 votes, or 49.12 percent of the vote. In the race for Township Assessor, Alan Zielinski defeated Terra Jensen. Zielinski had 1,998 votes or 52.97 percent while Jensen had 1,774 votes or 47.03 percent. Kathryn Francis is running unopposed for clerk. In the Highway Commissioner race, Tom Poznanski had 2,020 votes or 54.20 percent while Tim Hoeft had 1,707 votes or 45.80 percent, according to preliminary results. There were eight candidates running for four …

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Where to Vote? Polling Places, Election Information

The local election day will be on Tuesday, April 9.

Several local races will be up for election Tuesday.  Local races of interest include Lake in the Hills village board of trustees and village president and the Algonquin village board of trustees.  The McHenry County Election website has a precinct finder for those wishing to look up their polling place.  Check back to Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch Tuesday night for results from local races. 

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Grafton Township Assessor: Alan Zielinski

Alan Zielinski is a candidate for Grafton Township Assessor.

Alan Zielinski Age: 62. Family: Mary & Bob (sister and brother-in-law), Michaelene (significant other) and Sasha, Klondike, Igloo & Mickie (four rescue Samoyeds who comprise our Fuzzy White Dog Pack). Education: B.S., Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. MBA from Michigan State University. All required fundamental and continuing education courses for active Real Estate Appraiser certifications in Illinois and Wisconsin. All required coursework for a Certified Illinois Assessment Officer designation. Occupation: real estate and business valuation. Previous elected or appointed offices: none. Position sought: Grafton Township Assessor. Political party: Republican. Campaign E-mail address:  Info@AlforAssessor.com Campaign committee: …

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Vote Tuesday to Change the Lives of 5,000 People in McHenry County

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Uncontested Races Means Property Tax Policy Change Unlikely

The Daily Herald reports that 64.8 percent of McHenry County's local races in Tuesday's election are uncontested.

While lowering property taxes may ranks high on many local residents wish list, a low number of contested races in the upcoming local election could mean that such policy changes are unlikely, according to the Daily Herald.  The Daily Herald reports 60 percent of the 2,100-plus local races in McHenry, Cook, Kane, DuPage and Lake counties are uncontested going into Tuesday's election. In McHenry County, 64.8 percent of the races are uncontested, according to a Daily Herald graphic. Read more in today's Daily Herald article.

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Algonquin Village Board Trustee Candidate: Robert Smith

Robert Smith is one of four candidates running for three open trustee seats on Algonquin Village Board.

Name: Robert Smith Age: 52 Family: Wife two Daughters       Occupation: Midwest Regional Manager for International Freight Forwarder Previous elected or appointed offices: Village Trustee from 1993 to Present Position sought: Re-Election as Village Trustee Campaign Website: bobsmithalgonquintrustee@weebly.com  What is the primary reason you are running for this office? I have had the privilege of representing the people of Algonquin for the last 20 years.  I have been a part of the growth and development of Algonquin making it the type of community we can all be proud of.  I am running for re-election because I feel that I still have a lot to offer.  I have the experience and leadership to help keep Algonquin moving forward.      What will…

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