Election 2022: Here is who’s leading in McHenry County’s congressional races

McHenry County voters on Tuesday weighed in on four of Illinois’ 18 congressional district races and one U.S. Senate race.

Democrats took an early lead in three of the four races, according to early, incomplete results reported by The Associated Press, and three of the four races were called before 11 p.m.

The county had fallen into two congressional districts before the decennial census and redistricting process caused Illinois to lose a congressional seat and redraw the boundaries.

Currently, U.S. Reps. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, and Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, serve McHenry County, representing the 14th and 16th districts, respectively. Now, the county is divided into the 9th, 10th, 11th and 16th districts.

Just after 10 p.m., the Associated Press declared incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky the winner in the 9th Congressional District, which includes the southeast portion of McHenry County, including parts of Crystal Lake, Cary, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin and Fox River Grove.

Schakowsky, of Evanston, has held the office since 1999 and sat in the Illinois General Assembly before that. She faced Republican Max Rice, who worked in energy consultation, according to his campaign website.

As of midnight, with the AP estimating 93% of the votes counted, Schakowsky was leading with 70.5% of the vote for a total of 162,680 votes to Rice’s 68,211.

In the 10th Congressional District, the AP called the race just before 11 p.m. for incumbent Democrat Brad Schneider, who defeated Republican Joe Severino.

The district includes the northeast corner of McHenry County, from just west of Hebron through Richmond, Wonder Lake, Spring Grove and Fox Lake.

Schneider, of Highland Park, has served in Congress for eight years after defeating and then losing to and then defeating again Republican Bob Dold.

Severino, of Lake Forest, is the founder and president of a private investment company.

As of 11:30 p.m., with the AP estimating 95% of the votes counted, Schneider was leading with 62.1% of the vote for a total 143,022 votes to Severino’s 87,220 votes.

In the 11th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Bill Foster was being challenged by Woodstock Republican Catalina Lauf, who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2020.

Lauf conceded the race in an emailed statement at 10:40 p.m., thanking those who supported her campaign, including her family, friends and volunteers.

“I congratulate Bill Foster who I urge to represent the values of every hardworking American here in the 11th district,” Lauf said in the statement. “For those of us who stay here in Illinois, we have our work cut out for us. This state is always worth fighting for. This country is always worth fighting for. We may have lost, but the fight for the heart and soul of our country is not over. And it begins right here, in the Heartland.”

The district stretches from McHenry County’s western edge to its eastern one, covering all or part of Crystal Lake, Woodstock, McHenry, Marengo and Huntley.

Foster, a physicist and businessman, has been in Congress since 2008. Before Lauf’s 2020 run, she was appointed by then-President Donald Trump to a position in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As of 11:30 p.m., with the AP estimating 93% of the votes counted, Foster was leading with 137,202 votes, or 56.3% of the counted total, to Lauf’s 106,328.

Just before 11 p.m., the AP called the 16th Congressional District for Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood over Democratic challenger Lisa Haderlein. The district stretches from the northern border of Illinois south past Peoria.

LaHood is an ardent supporter of Trump. He was a state senator from 2011 to 2015 and served as a state’s attorney. His father, Ray LaHood, also a Republican, served as the U.S. secretary of transportation under former President Barack Obama.

Haderlein is an alderwoman for the city of Harvard and the executive director of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

As of 11:30 p.m., with the AP estimating 80% of the votes counted, LaHood was leading with 66.6% of the total, or 158,795 votes to Haderlein’s 79,705 votes.

One of Illinois’ two U.S. Senate seats also was up for grabs. Incumbent Democrat Tammy Duckworth faced off against Republican Kathy Salvi and Libertarian Bill Redpath.

The AP declared Duckworth the winner for her second term as senator shortly after polls closed Tuesday night.

Duckworth, of Hoffman Estates, is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who is wrapping up her first six-year term in the Senate. Salvi, of Mundelein, is an attorney and former assistant public defender in Lake County.

Redpath, of West Dundee, is a previous Libertarian National Committee chairman and is managing director of the Chicago office of a financial consulting and valuation firm specializing in the satellite, telecom and media sectors.