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No blue wave in the Illinois Valley · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  No blue wave in the Illinois Valley Written by Tom Collins This
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  article is being read by an automated voice brought to you by
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  Everlet. The congressional elections today may well have been a referendum on
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  Donald Trump, but voter turnout in the Illinois Valley suggests the local
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  results were a referendum on Governor J. B. Pritzker. La Salle Bureau
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  in Putnam Counties recorded aggregate voter turnout of 57.3 percent. Tellingly, each
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  county supported GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey over Pritzker and saw Bailey
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  deliver at least some down ballot support to fellow Republicans. In LaSalle
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  County, for example, Clerk Jennifer Ebner had said she hoped for 40
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  turnout or higher. Her estimate proved conservative. LaSalle County turnout stood at
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  51. Judging from the governor's race, GOP participation was in no way
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  diminished. Pritzker won re-election but took just 43.3 of the county's vote.
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  The same story played out in Bureau and Putnam counties. Bureau County
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  Clerk Matt Eggers declined to deliver a pre-election forecast of vote turnout.
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  Overall turnout was fifty-nine percent, but he did predict the contested sheriff's
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  race would be a big draw. I think overall it was a
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  good turnout by both Republican and Democratic parties, Eggers said. Bureau County
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  generally leans more Republican, but both parties showed up to vote yesterday.
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  Tuesday's total proved him correct. Republican Tom Cameron prevailed with 60.3
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  of the vote over Democrat Michael Whittig and generally kept Bureau County
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  red. Bailey won the county with 61 of the votes. Similarly, Putnam
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  County reported overall turnout of 62. Her again, the governor's race underscored
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  strong GOP participation, with Bailey seizing 56.6 of the local vote to
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  Pritzker's 39.7. All of which appeared to help downballot Republicans, even
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  those who ultimately lost regional contests. In the bid for Statehouse, for
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  example, Republican Liz Bishop of LaSalle lost her rematch with incumbent Amy
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  Murray Briel. Bishop did, however, capitalize on local voters disapproval of Pritzker
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  by taking a nearly 51 majority of the vote in LaSalle County.
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  That rain was offset by Briel gains in other counties. Similarly, Peru
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  Democrat Melissa Oliveiro mounted a much more active campaign for judge than
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  did incumbent circuit judge Michel A. Vascogni. Nevertheless, Vascany won the LaSalle
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  County vote by nearly 54. Notably, turnout was in no way impeded
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  by weather. Though intermittent rain emerged three hours after the polls opened,
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  there was little evidence that turnout was impeded for either party.