Arlington Heights Election Results: Incumbents Retain Seats

Arlington Heights IL

06 April, 2021

7:00 PM

Description

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Four-year seats on a village board or city council are highly coveted in local political circles. In Arlington Heights, six candidates were vying for four of these seats Tuesday in a race involving two incumbents and four challengers. Incumbents James Tinaglia and Richard Baldino will retain their seats and will be joined by top vote-getter James Bertucci and Nicolle Grasse on the Village Board, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk's Office. (Cook County Clerk's Office) Polls officially closed at 7 p.m. All results are unofficial and do not include early, vote-by mail tallies and provisional ballot counts. Return to Patch for results as they come in. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results. Leading up to Election Day, the Clerk's Office tests all voting equipment at its warehouse location and packs up more than 1,600 Voting Supply Carriers, which contain all essential voting equipment including ballots, polling place signage, PPE, and other supplies. The Clerk's Office then delivers the boxes to each suburban polling location for use by election judges, polling place workers and voters on Election Day. Karen Yarbrough has served as the Cook County Clerk since 2018. She is the first woman and first African American to hold the position. The polls are officially open for the April 6 Consolidated Election! Find your home precinct, voter registration status & more here: https://t.co/O7lsfuurVm. pic.twitter.com/L50u6dPbeD— Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough (@cookcountyclerk) April 6, 2021 Arlington Heights Village Board members are elected at large on a non-partisan basis, serving as the community's decision-makers. The Village Board members are composed of eight trustees, and one Village President, who is Mayor Tom Hayes. He is running unopposed in this election. Richard Baldino, 53, was first elected in 2017 and was seeking his second term on the board. He has been an environmental chemist for 27 years, currently working with Sustainment and Restoration Services, LLC, out of Chicago. "The most important issue in Arlington Heights is infrastructure because it has a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of all residents and businesses," Baldino said in a Patch candidate questionnaire prior to the election. "The longer it takes us to fix our infrastructure, the more expensive it will become. It's central to the services that the Village provides. I intend to use a sustainability lens when approaching projects to ensure they are not band-aid solutions, but real fixes to our roads, water mains, and flood-mitigation efforts." I'm committed to being an ally and pushing our Village to take needed action on diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community. We need a DEI commission and programming to facilitate these critical conversations, and then we need to implement real changes. pic.twitter.com/gPtBtfCTa2— Neighbors for Baldino (@BaldinoForAH) March 18, 2021 Jim Tinaglia, 59, is the owner of Tinaglia Architects for the past 30 years, and has been a trustee since 2013. According to Tinaglia, he is the only architect to ever be elected to the board. He touts no tax increases for Arlington Heights residents in 2020 and again this year as among his biggest accomplishments during two terms on the board. He is also concerned about the future of Arlington Park. "With the recent official announcement that Arlington Park will close after the 2021 season, the significant tax generating potential of 326 acres of prime real estate will be in front of us," Tinaglia said in a Patch candidate questionnaire prior to the election. "It is my goal to be re-elected so that I can help shape our community's future related to this outstanding opportunity towards a new and improved legacy for future generations. We do not need more retail, multifamily housing or office buildings like The Glen at Arlington Park." Jim Bertucci, 61, has been an investment advisor and financial consultant for 33 years. Previously, he has served on the Board of Library Trustees for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Among the biggest issues facing Arlington Heights, according to Bertucci, are economic development, financial planning and recovery, small business development, diversity and inclusion, and affordable housing and accessibility. "Currently, the single most pressing issue is navigating the present COVID-19 virus crisis to keep our residents safe and to help our businesses survive and recover," Bertucci said. "As a Village Trustee, I would contribute by using my leadership and financial planning expertise to help current short-term and future long-term expense and revenue planning to strengthen post-pandemic recovery. Nicolle Grasse, 54, has worked as a hospice chaplain with VITAS Healthcare for 28 years. "The single most pressing issue facing our community and Village board is the COVID-19 pandemic," Grasse said. "The effects of COVID-19 trauma on us individually, communally and economically will bring challenges to our Village for many years to come. These challenges will require creative and comprehensive recovery plans from our board." After such a hard year, I look to play an important role in taking us to #GreaterHeights. To champion small businesses and economic vitality, I'll contribute financial expertise to community decisions on the Village Board. Make your plan to vote: -https://t.co/tpi6OBPxNs pic.twitter.com/hDdrYJFvHr— ElectBertucci (@elect_jim) March 31, 2021 Will Beiersdorf is the executive director of the Road House Program: The Center for Veterans and Their Families At Rush University Medical Center, according to his Linkedin profile. Wendy Dunnington, 48, works in District 25 as a classroom assistant and guest teacher. The longtime stay-at-home mom formerly worked as a credit analyst in commercial banking and then worked at the national office of the Alzheimer's Association as an auditor and financial analyst. RELATED Arlington Heights Voters To Decide On Village, School BoardsArlington Heights: 2021 Consolidated Elections Stay Patched In! 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