No contest: listings for March primary elections shows majority of DuPage County candidates running unopposed

A prelude to November’s general elections, Illinois will hold its primary elections March 19, giving voters the choice of who should run as their party’s respective candidate.

While the ballot will include candidates running for state and national offices, local races like those for DuPage County can sneak under the radar.

Fourteen positions are up for election in the county, five county offices, six county board seats and three seats on the Forest Preserve District.

For those voting in the Republican primary, the county elections won’t require much effort; none of the thirteen candidates on the party’s ballot will face a challenger, in fact one Republican incumbent, County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, is running unopposed on both ballots as no Democrat is running for the office.

Races aren’t particularly cluttered on the Democrats’ end either, as only three of the fourteen positions see any contest within the party.

Incumbent Jeffrey Jacobson will face Judith Lukas for the position of county coroner, Kathleen Carrier will run for her current position as county recorder against Peter DiCianni, who previously ran for DuPage County Board chair as a Republican in 2022, and Elizabeth Chaplin, who is not seeking re-election for her current position representing District 2 on the DuPage County Board.

County Board District 4 is also under contention by incumbent Lynn LaPlante and Christine Maes who currently serves on the board of the Glenside Public Library District.

No candidate on the Republican ticket is running for the District 4 seat.

The March primary elections represent a return to form for Illinois, after the traditionally springtime election was move to late June in 2022, a result of state officials working around delayed 2020 census data.