16.3% Voter Turnout In St. Charles For 2021 Election

ST. CHARLES, IL — Voter turnout in St. Charles was higher in this spring’s local races than the 2017 election, thanks in part to the contest for the mayor’s office at the top of the ballot.

Ald. Lora Vitek defeated fellow Ald. Maureen Lewis last week in the race to replace outgoing Mayor Raymond Rogina, unofficial election results show. That matchup, as well as contests for five seats on the City Council, led to a small increase in voter turnout in 2021 compared to 2017.

About 16.3 percent of St. Charles’ registered voters in St. Charles cast ballots in the 2021 election, up from 13 percent in 2017, according to statistics from the Kane County Clerk’s Office.

$2.6M For Geneva Schools From $1.9T Coronavirus Relief Package

St. Charles posted a voter turnout of about 79.5 percent in the 2020 presidential election, with nearly 30,000 residents voting, the clerk’s data shows. Just 3,769 residents voted in 2021, while about 2,900 voted in 2017, according to election data.

Vitek won 2,153 votes (57.1 percent) to Lewis’ 1,616 votes (42.9 percent) in the 2021 consolidated election, unofficial election results show. About 14.2 percent of all votes were submitted through the mail, while 28.2 percent were cast in person before Election Day, the clerk’s data shows.

Contested council races across the city and a five-way race for four seats on the District 303 school board also encouraged more St. Charles voters to participate in the 2021 election than in 2017.

New Vaccination Site In Elgin Open To All Eligible IL Residents

Incumbent 1st Ward Ald. Ronald Silkaitis is projected to defeat Richard Balla Jr. to win re-election. Silkaitis leads Balla by more than 20 percentage points, according to unofficial results.

Challenger Ryan Bongard earned more than 64 percent of the vote in his race to unseat incumbent 2nd Ward Ald. Arthur Lemke, unofficial results show.

Paul Lencioni is projected to win his race against Charles Amenta to represent Ward 3 on the St. Charles City Council. Lencioni earned 57.6 percent of the vote to Amenta's 37.4 percent.

Steve Weber holds a significant lead over Richard Artz and Kimberly Malay in the race to replace Lewis as 5th Ward alderman. Weber earned 43.2 percent of the vote to Malay's 26.7 percent and Artz's 26.3 percent, according to the Kane County Clerk's Office.

Incumbents Edward McNally, Heidi Fairgrieve and Carolyn Waibel are leading their races for re-election to the St. Charles District 303 Board of Education.

Kate Bell leads Jim Stombres by three votes (374-371) for the final seat on the board. Bell earned the least amount of votes in St. Charles’ precincts in Kane County, but she has the second-most votes in the city’s DuPage County precincts, unofficial results show.

No one ran for St. Charles city clerk or treasurer.