Green Oaks Nurse Declares Victory In Lake Co. Coroner Race

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A Green Oaks Democrat is claiming victory over first-term incumbent Howard Cooper in the Lake County Coroner's race. On Tuesday, the Lake County Clerk's Office released its latest mail-in ballot tallies, which showed Cooper trailing Jennifer Banek with 47.22 percent of the vote total.

Banek has 165,875 votes compared to Cooper's 148,398, according to unofficial results. The Lake County Clerk's Office will release official results on Nov. 17, once late arriving mail-in and validated provisional totals have been counted.

In a statement posted to her campaign Facebook page late Tuesday, Banek said she felt confident the latest results show she'd won the election.

"Thank you to everyone who participated in this process. While I have not heard from Dr. Cooper, I also thank him for his service to our County," Banek said. "We have significant challenges ahead of us, but we will face them together. I look forward to a smooth transition and getting to work for the people of Lake County."

Both Cooper and Banek ran campaigns focused more on looking at ways to prevent people from dying and less on finding ways to improve the office's death investigations in the future.

Banek is a nurse anesthesiologist and captain in the U.S. Army Reserves who also serves as a library trustee.

During her run for the office, Banek said she'd use her combined experience in the healthcare field and in the military to ensure the county's health and safety. She says health issues leading to premature death, including opioid abuse, vaping, gun safety, and ethylene oxide emissions, are among the concerns facing residents in the future, according to her candidate website.

Cooper is a Wadsworth Republican and dentist with experience as a forensic odontologist.

Accomplishments he touted during his time in office include ensuring the coroner's office was accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and boarded by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. He also re-instituted coroner's inquests for all officer-involved and in-custody deaths to increase transparency. His office has focused on educating high school students on the "deadly consequences of opioid use, addiction, and making good choices," according to his candidate website.

The Lake County race is not the only one that appears to have a Democratic challenger taking the reins. Also on Tuesday, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim conceded after the latest election results showed Eric Rinehart, a Highwood Democrat, widened his lead.

• Challenger Claims Victory In Lake Co. State's Attorney Race