GREENE/CALHOUN/MACOUPIN/ST. CLAIR COUNTY – With the 2024 General Election just around the corner, here’s one last look at the few competitive county level races Greene, Macoupin, Calhoun, and St. Clair Counties.
St. Clair County Sees Most Competition
The county with the most contested races this election is St. Clair, where the offices of County Board Chairman, Circuit Clerk, and more will see a series of faceoffs between Democrat incumbents and Republican challengers.
Incumbent Democrat Mark Kern, who has been County Board Chairman since he was elected in 2004, is seeking re-election. Kern is set to face Republican challenger Ryan Musick.
Another incumbent Democrat, Kinnis Williams, Sr., will face another Republican challenger, Cindi McDonald, for the position of Circuit Clerk. Williams was elected Circuit Clerk in 2022.
The County Coroner race in St. Clair will see yet another incumbent Democrat, Calvin Dye, Sr., run against Dean Darnall, the Republican challenger. Dye is seeking re-election to the Coroner position he has held since 2016.
The race for County Recorder of Deeds follows a similar pattern, with Democrat Michael P. Crockett, Jr. seeking re-election against Republican challenger Jason Madlock.
Four total candidates are running for three seats on the St. Clair County Board of Review. Democrats Irma G. Golliday and Amanda Warma will seek re-election to the board, while current board member Angela Grossmann-Roewe will not. Republicans Tyler Thompson and Brian Triska are also running for seats on the Board of Review.
Few Contests In Other Counties
Outside of St. Clair County, there won’t be much competition on the ballot at the county level.
Calhoun County will only see one contested local race this election. Republican Lucas Fanning, the current State’s Attorney, is seeking re-election against one Democrat challenger, Stephen George Friedel.
Greene County will see just two contested races – State’s Attorney and County Coroner.
The State’s Attorney’s race will see incumbent Republican Donald “Donnie” Schaaf face Independent challenger Craig Michael Grummel. For County Coroner, Incumbent Democrat Danny J. Powell is seeking re-election against Republican challenger Brady Milnes.
Four candidates are also running for three seats on the County Board: Democrat David W. McGraw and Republicans Charlie Helton, Joshua Lawson, Robert “Rob” Hall.
In Macoupin County, the only contested local race is for Circuit Clerk. Republican Amy J. Ashby and Democrat Dana Carr Skinner will compete to fill a vacancy left by Circuit Clerk Lee Ross, who is not seeking re-election.
Referendum, Ballot Questions
Jersey County will see no contested races this election. However, it joins Greene and Calhoun Counties in the consideration of a county-level ballot referendum on separating from Cook County to form a new state. Macoupin and St. Clair counties are not considering such a referendum.
The referendum reads as follows:
“Shall the County Board of Jersey County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois outside of Cook County about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state, and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has already stated that Jersey County “does not have the legal authority to secede from Illinois,” as previously reported on Riverbender.com. An opinion document from the state AG concludes that this ballot referendum “would have no binding legal effect.” State-level ballot questions across all counties include the following: Stay tuned to Riverbender.com for more 2024 Election coverage, including local election results.
