UPDATED: Waukegan, Moline, Kankakee, Alton, Belleville Mayors Among Ousted Tuesday
Sangeetha Rayapati defeated Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri in a contentious race for Mayor which concluded in Tuesday’s municipal elections. Acri was one of multiple mayors around the state to be ousted.
From Waukegan to Alton, numerous mayors of major Illinois communities were ousted in Tuesday’s municipal elections.
In Waukegan, one-term Mayor Sam Cunningham was defeated by Alderwoman Ann Taylor in a 56%-44% decision.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Taylor’s apparent win over Mayor Sam Cunningham, the city’s first Black mayor, continues a trend dating to at least 1996 in which voters have not reelected a Waukegan mayor to a second term. She collected 55.58% of the 6,434 votes to Cunningham’s 44.42%, according to unofficial results.
“I’ve worked so hard for this, and now I just have to absorb it all,” Taylor said in declaring victory. “It’s overwhelming.”
In conceding defeat, Cunningham said he was disappointed in the outcome, “which was not what I expected it to be,” and plans to spend the rest of his term helping Taylor ease into her new job.
“I wish her nothing but the best,” he said. “I will work with her transition team to get her up to speed so she can keep Waukegan going forward.”
Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri was ousted by local school board President Sangeetha Rayapati. From the Dispatch-Argus:
Moline-Coal Valley School Board President Sangeetha Rayapati handily unseated incumbent Stephanie Acri in a contentious contest for Moline mayor in Tuesday's Illinois municipal elections.
Rayapati upset Acri, taking roughly 61% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Rayapati received 3,868 votes to Acri's 2,451 in the race for the part-time job that pays $20,000 a year and provides a monthly vehicle allowance.
"Now, the work of putting people, possibilities and progress at the center of our vision for this city begins," Rayapati said in a statement Tuesday night.
She thanked her family, supporters and current city leaders, without naming Acri, "for their service, and assure the public that we will step in and work for each and every individual, business and institution."
"With wins across the board tonight, I plan to work with incoming and existing aldermen to build a path forward," Rayapati said.
Voters on Tuesday ousted every incumbent Moline City Council member on the ballot in a change election signaling increasing frustration with city leadership over city budget cuts, high senior staff turnover and the outsourcing of some city services to private contractors.
One term Democrat Kankakee Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong was defeated by Republican Alderman Chris Curtis Tuesday. From the Daily-Journal:
Kankakee voters overwhelmingly said it was time for a change in the city’s leadership as Republican Alderman Chris Curtis easily defeated first-term Democratic Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong.
Curtis, 52, a 6th Ward alderman for the past nine years, roared past Wells-Armstrong on Tuesday and will be sworn into office on May 3.
The mayor-elect collected exactly 600 more votes than Wells-Armstrong. Curtis gained 57 percent of the vote with 2,351. Wells-Armstrong picked up 43 percent of the vote with 1,751.
During his victory address to supporters at the Knights of Columbus Hall in downtown Kankakee only about an hour after the polls closed, Curtis called for unity, not only within the city, but within the entire region.
In Alton, Mayor Brant Walker was defeated by former police officer and pastor David Goins. From Riverbender.com:
The highly contested Alton mayor race has been decided and the winner is David Goins by a 2,021 to 1,625 margin.
Goins said it was a definite "team effort," in his win over Walker.
"We ran an above-board, clean campaign," he said. "We stuck with that through the campaign and it paid off. I has been such a journey. I am looking forward to a bright future and being the new mayor of Alton. I thought it was interesting I won with 2,021 votes in 2021."
UPDATE (11:58 A.M.):
Incumbent Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert was defeated by Patty Gregory, the first female to be elected Mayor in the city’s 207 year history.
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Meanwhile, the open race for Peoria Mayor will come down to mail-in ballots. Via the Peoria Journal-Star:
So far in the Peoria mayoral race, it’s Montelongo. But not by much.
By a 73-vote margin with 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Jim Montelongo led Rita Ali for the right to be Peoria mayor for the next four years.
Montelongo received 7,983 votes, or 50.23%. Ali received 7,910 votes, or 49.77%. The totals included election-day ballots from all 95 city precincts, as well as early and mail voting.
Outstanding mail-in votes probably will decide who wins. There are about 675, according to the Peoria County Board of Election Commissioners.
Ballots must have been postmarked no later than Tuesday and received at the election offices by April 20 to be counted. That's when the final totals are to be announced.
Ali and Montelongo, both City Council members, ran to replace Jim Ardis, the four-term incumbent. He decided not to run for reelection.
Bloomington elected its first Black Mayor, Alderman Mboka Mwilambwe, in an open race to replace outgoing Mayor Tari Renner. From The Pantagraph:
Mboka Mwilambwe may need to move three seats to his left when he returns to the Bloomington City Council dais, after being on track Tuesday to securing his first term as the city's mayor.
If the lead holds, Mwilambwe, 50, will become the city's first Black mayor. He since 2011 has held the Ward 3 seat on the council and since 2019 has served as mayor pro tem.
In the unofficial tally of all 52 precincts reporting, Mwilambwe collected 4,455 votes, or 38.71%.
Mike Straza garnered 4,248 votes, or 36.91%, and Jackie Gunderson received 2,780 votes, or 24.16%. Misty Metroz, the only certified write-in candidate, received 25 votes, or 0.22%.
In the suburbs, controversial Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau appears to have won re-election. Scott Levin will be the next Mayor of Elmhurst. John Argoudelis won the open race for Plainfield Mayor. And Rep. Kelly Burke (D-Evergreen Park) and Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D-Calumet City) will also become Mayors of their communities. State law allows them to serve as both Mayor and State Representative.