Lake County Gazette

There are 16 competitive school board races in Lake County, according to an analysis of candidate filings by the Lake County Gazette.

Of the 16 Lake County school boards eight currently have Democrat majorities, seven have GOP majorities and one is tied, according to an analysis of elected official primary voting history.

All told-- 91 candidates are running for 56 open seats across the 16 districts, including 40 incumbents.

That includes 39 Democrats, 39 Republicans and 12 independents.

In Antioch, two competitive school board races center around whether the community's schools should organize themselves around the Marxist concept of "equity," or seeking to equalize black and white student test cores, rather than trying to raise all students' academic achievement.

A pro-"equity" group is backing an incimbent slate of Democrats Tiffany Cappel, Tamar Lasko, Josh Cornwell, Kelly Beall and Mary Beth Hulting, along with Republican Lori Linck for the Antioch District 34 school board. Six seats are open.

Of the 112 current school board slots in the sixteen competitive districts, 59 are held by Democrats, 43 by Republicans and ten by an independent.

Election Day is Tues. April 4.

Which 2023 school board races are competitive in Lake County?

16 school board races are in the balance on April 4. 

School Board	Current Split	Seats Up	Inc. Running	total	DEM	GOP	Other
Antioch CHSD 117	5-2 REPUBLICAN	3	2	8	4	4	0
Antioch SD 34	4-2-1 DEMOCRAT	6	4	8	2	5	0
Barrington CUSD 220	4-3 DEMOCRAT	3	2	7	3	4	0
Lake Zurich CHSD 95	5-1-1 REPUBLICAN	3	1	6	4	0	2
Warren HSD 121	6-1 DEMOCRAT	3	2	6	4	2	0
Waukegan CUSD 60	6-1 DEMOCRAT	3	2	6	4	1	1
Winthrop Harbor SD 1	4-3 REPUBLICAN	4	2	6	2	3	1
Cary SD 26	4-3 DEMOCRAT	3	3	5	2	2	1
Lincolnshire-Prairie View SD 103	5-2 DEMOCRAT	3	1	5	2	1	2
Nippersink SD 2	3-3-1 TIE	3	3	5	1	3	2
Stevenson SD 125	6-1 DEMOCRAT	5	4	7	4	1	1
Lake Bluff SD 65	3-0-4 DEMOCRAT	3	2	4	1	1	2
Lake Villa SD 41	4-3 REPUBLICAN	4	4	5	2	3	0
Wauconda CUSD 118	2-1-3 REPUBLICAN	3	2	4	2	2	0
McHenry SD 15	4-3 REPUBLICAN	3	3	4	1	3	0
McHenry SD 156	5-2 REPUBLICAN	4	3	5	1	4	0
TOTAL		56	40	91	39	39	12

Antioch SD 34
Current Split	5-2	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	6
Candidates running	12
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Paul Green (I)	R	Antioch	69
Sonia Williams	R	Antioch	53
Tiffany L. Cappel (I)	D	Lake Villa	49
Mary Beth Hulting (I)	D	Antioch	50
Lori Linck (I)	R	Antioch	56
Scott Shaffer	R	Antioch	65
Christopher Hartman	R	Antioch	36
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Tamar Lasko	D	Antioch	41
Kelly Beall	D	Lake Villa	54
Pam Adams	NV	Antioch	56
Kristen Fielder	R	Antioch	40
Kevin Fielder	R	Antioch	41
Joshua Cornwell	D	Antioch	41
Existing Board Members
Angela Baronello	D	Antioch	46
Members leaving board
Mechelle N. Casey	D	Lindenhurst	48
Nicolino Di Benedetto	D	Antioch	47
Stevenson HSD 125
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	5
Candidates running	7
2023 Candidates-4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Roni S. Ben-Yoseph (I)	D	Lincolnshire	47
Shu Cao (I)	D	Buffalo Grove	49
Amy Neault (I)	D	Kildeer	52
Donald R. Tyer (I)	D	Long Grove	51
Nathan Libbey	NV	Buffalo Grove	40
Aaron Glenn	R	Hawthorn Woods	41
2023 Candidates-2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Terry C. Moons (I)	D	Lincolnshire	80
Existing Board Members
Gary R. Gorson	R	Hawthorn Woods	69
Steven G. Frost	D	Buffalo Grove	69
Lake Zurich CUSD 95
Current Split	5-1-1	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	6
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Kelly Pinter	D	Lake Zurich	41
Douglas Goldberg (I)	NV	Lake Zurich	64
Kristen Paul	D	Hawthorn Woods	40
Natashia Dannegger	D	Barrington	40
Adam Weingarten	D	Lake Zurich	39
Shawn Broadfield	NV	Lake Zurich	60
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Scott McConnell	R	Kildeer	50
Eileen Maloney	R	Lake Zurich	58
Peter Etienne	D	Lake Zurich	61
Lisa Warren	R	Kildeer	57
Members leaving board
Christian Ketcham	R	Lake Zurich	48
Marty Cupples	R	Kildeer	54
Antioch CHSD 117
Current Split	5-2	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	8
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Mechelle N. Casey	D	Lindenhurst	48
Julianne T. Hettich	R	Antioch	56
Linda H. Carroll	R	Antioch	60
Phillip A. Delany	R	Antioch	73
Ellen Ipsen (I)	R	Antioch	70
Sandra J. Jacobs (I)	D	Antioch	72
Sue Dickson	D	Lindenhurst	60
Rebecca R. Galvez	D	Lindenhurst	38
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Wayne Sobczak	R	Antioch	74
Bruce L. Pagni	D	Antioch	80
Bart Allen Winkler	R	Antioch	57
Cynthia S. Collins	R	Antioch	64
Members leaving board
Ronald J. Vickers	R	Lake Villa	66
Wauconda CUSD 118
Current Split	2-1-3	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Robert Collins (I)	R	Volo	52
Cynthia Marie Henrichs	D	Volo	37
Ryan A. Berka	R	Lake Villa	39
Vincent J. Torossy (I)	D	Wauconda	30
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Carey McHugh	R	Port Barrington	53
Lourdes Chapa	NV	Volo	50
Jonathan Feryance	NV	Wauconda	51
Kimberly Miller	NV	Port Barrington	51
Waukegan SD 60
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	6
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Khershuana Hanna	D	Waukegan	43
Christine Lensing	D	Waukegan	36
Rick Riddle (I)	D	Waukegan	76
Randy Sobecki	NV	Waukegan	43
Carolina D. Fabian	D	Waukegan	40
Lucy Leguizamo (I)	R	Waukegan	42
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Brandon Ewing	D	Waukegan	30
Anita M. Hanna	D	Waukegan	66
Adriana Gonzalez	D	Waukegan	26
Jeff McBride	D	Waukegan	74
Members leaving board
Charlotte Callahan Wozniak	D	Waukegan	62
Cary CCSD 26
Current Split	4-3	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	5
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Deanna Darling (I)	D	Cary	58
Jason Janczak (I)	R	Cary	45
Kathryn Potter (I)	D	Cary	39
Loraine Perry	R	Cary	47
Nancy Swart	NV	Hawthorn Woods	80
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Anne Santucci	R	Cary	43
Stacey Sault	D	Cary	39
Julie Jette	R	Cary	65
Melinda Hartman	D	Cary	38
Lake Bluff SD 65
Current Split	3-0-4	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Anne Hill (I)	NV	Lake Bluff	47
Laine Bennett	R	Lake Bluff	45
Laura Breakstone	D	Lake Bluff	41
Andy Duran (I)	NV	Lake Bluff	44
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Carrie Steinbach	D	Lake Bluff	42
Amy Connell-Donohue	NV	Lake Bluff	52
Lauren Hirsh	NV	Lake Bluff	42
Tim Penich	D	Lake Bluff	38
Members leaving board
Mark Barry	D	Lake Bluff	59
Lake Villa CUSD 41
Current Split	4-3	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	4
Candidates running	5
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Joanne H. Osmond (I)	R	Lake Villa	74
Randy Harnicker	D	Lindenhurst	41
Joe Dunne (I)	R	Lake Villa	57
Michael J. Conway (I)	D	Lake Villa	57
Debbie Walsh (I)	R	Round Lake Beach	55
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Kurt G. Hansen	D	Lake Villa	60
Edward J. Liberman	R	Round Lake Heights	53
Mark Aleckson	D	Lake Villa	50
Lincolnshire-Prairie View #103
Current Split	5-2	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	5
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Sanjay Keshav	R	Vernon Hills	45
Kathryn Hoskins	NV	Lincolnshire	41
Nana Agyeman	D	Lincolnshire	41
Marissa Grossenbach (I)	D	Lincolnshire	45
Ning Zhang	NV	Vernon Hills	50
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Anne van Gerven	D	Lincolnshire	56
Kate Harper	R	Lincolnshire	55
Maria Peterson	D	Lincolnshire	48
Michael Weaver	R	Lincolnshire	54
Members leaving board
Michael Odongo	D	Buffalo Grove	53
Rana Hashemi-Haeri	D	Lincolnshire	46
McHenry SD 15
Current Split	4-3	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Matthew Stauner (I)	R	McHenry	51
Arne Waltmire (I)	D	McHenry	70
Emily Jay	R	McHenry	40
Patrick J. Degeorge (I)	R	McHenry	42
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Chad Mihevc	D	McHenry	52
Lindsay Morley	D	McHenry	43
Rachel McDonnell	R	Wonder Lake	40
Jennifer Synek	R	McHenry	48
Nippersink SD 2
Current Split	3-3-1	TIE
Seats up	3
Candidates running	5
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Mary Shufelt	R	Spring Grove	39
Alie Stansbury	D	Spring Grove	44
Ryan R. Andrus (I)	R	Spring Grove	43
Joseph P. Quinn (I)	NV	Spring Grove	44
Tom Schwartz (I)	R	Richmond	38
Natalie Mailfald	NV	Spring Grove	45
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Liz Young	D	Spring Grove	48
Elke Kleisch	D	Spring Grove	53
Joel Johnson	R	Spring Grove	38
Robin S. Taylor	D	Spring Grove	57
Winthrop Harbor 1
Current Split	4-3	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	4
Candidates running	7
2023 Candidates-4 yr	Party	Hometown	Age
Alberto Segura	NV	Winthrop Harbor	33
Rebecca ("Becki") Matteson	R	Winthrop Harbor	43
Katherine B. Roane (I)	D	Winthrop Harbor	74
Darci Green (I)	R	Winthrop Harbor	53
Elizabeth M. McGinnis	D	Winthrop Harbor	70
Brenda Dickson	R	Winthrop Harbor	64
2023 Candidates-2 yr	Party	Hometown	Age
Lise K. McCarthy (I)	D	Winthrop Harbor	44
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Rick Lambert	R	Winthrop Harbor	49
Gene Ellison	D	Winthrop Harbor	67
Nicholas Dowdal	R	Winthrop Harbor	40
Leaving Board Members
Darci Green	R	Winthrop Harbor	53
McHenry SD 156
Current Split	5-2	Republican
Seats up	4
Candidates running	5
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Nicole Morrow (I)	R	McHenry	43
Dawn L. Bremer (I)	D	McHenry	52
Timothy R. Hying (I)	R	McHenry	58
Colleen Galvicius	R	McHenry	44
Steve Bellmore	R	McHenry	63
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Amanda A. Lobbins	R	McHenry	50
Pat Arnold	D	McHenry	43
Ronald Fischer	R	Lakemoor	62
Gary Kinshofer	R	McHenry	55
Warren Township 121
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	6
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Beth Pope	D	Beach Park	48
Tony DeMonte (I)	D	Grayslake	47
Steve E. Carlson (I)	D	Gurnee	74
Marc Piszkiewicz	D	Gurnee	46
Lynn Ulrich	R	Gurnee	60
Mercedes Shackleford	R	Gurnee	49
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Paul Schultz	D	Grayslake	61
John R. Anderson	D	Gurnee	69
Natalia Alvarez Martinez	D	Waukegan	45
Katherine Blair	D	Gurnee	55
Leaving Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Thomas Drake	R	Gurnee	58
Barrington CUSD 220
Current Split	4-3	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	7
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Diana L. Clopton	D	North Barrington	42
Nelda K. Munoz	R	Barrington	43
Leonard G. Munson	R	Barrington	58
Barry Altshuler (I)	D	North Barrington	65
Katey T .Baldassano	R	Barrington	48
Matt Sheriff	R	Port Barrington	50
Leah E. Collister-Lazzari (I)	D	Barrington	58
Existing Board Members
Erin Chan Ding	D	South Barrington	41
Sandra L. Ficke-Bradford	D	Barrington	55
Steve Wang	R	Barrington	38
Katie Karam	R	Barrington	46
Members leaving board
Angela C. Wilcox	R	Barrington Hills	48