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As the Illinois Board of Elections and the Chicago Board of Elections continue to tally votes from the Illinois Primary Election, the results of three major races remain too close to call.
The CBOE noted that mail-in ballots are continuing to be processed.
"Per Illinois election code, all late-arriving but properly postmarked (by March 19th) vote-by-mail ballots have a two-week period to be counted – and that would bring us to April 2nd," CBOE director of public information Max Bever said.
Bever noted however that the vast majority of vote-by-mail ballots come back on election day or night, and the immediately Wednesday and Thursday following.
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"By the time those are processed and counted into the unofficial results, we may have a much clearer picture by this weekend," Bever said.
Earlier in the day, Bever noted that Chicago's voter turnout was "shockingly low," saying that only 20% of Chicago's registered voters had turned out to cast ballots.
Races Still Too Close to Call
Cook County State's Attorney
One day after the Illinois primary election, the race for who will be the Democratic Party's nominee for Cook County State's Attorney remains too close to call.
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As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Eileen O'Neill Burke had a narrow lead over Clayton Harris. With 99% of precincts reporting, they're separated by roughly 9,000 votes.
Chicago real estate transfer tax
Chicago's proposed real estate transfer tax, referred to by some as the "mansion tax" or "Bring Chicago Home," has topped races to watch for the 2024 Illinois primary election.
The real estate transfer tax is the tax paid to the city on any property sold. The current rate is a flat rate of $3.75 per every $500 of the price. If passed, the proposal would change the rate to a progressive, or graduated, structure on all properties, residential and commercial, with three tiers.
It would reduce that rate to $3 of every $500 for properties sold for under $1 million. For sales over $1 million, it would increase the rate to $10 for every $500 of the price between $1 million and $1.5 million. For properties over $1.5 million, the rate would become $15 for every $500 of the price more than $1.5 million.
The revenue raised by the tax increase would be dedicated to efforts to combat homelessness.
Rep. Mike Bost vs. Darren Bailey in 12th District
In one of the higher-profile Republican Congressional races in Illinois, incumbent Rep. Mike Bost faces former Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey in the 12th district.
Bost, first elected to Congress in 2014, received some high-profile backing from the Republican party in the race, including nabbing the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who easily cruised to victory in the Illinois presidential primary on Tuesday night. This election marked the first time Bost had faced a primary challenger since 2018, when Preston Nelson opposed him.
Bailey’s campaign focused heavily on Second Amendment issues and his push against abortion access. He also emphasized energy independence and investing heavily in border security.
Major races that have been called
Rep. Danny Davis projected to win Democratic primary in Illinois' 7th congressional district
Longtime congressman Danny Davis appears to be destined for another term in Washington, as the Associated Press has projected him to be the winner of the 7th district Democratic primary.
Davis, who has represented the West Side and west suburbs-based district since 1997, defeated challengers Kina Collins, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Kouri Marshall and Nikhil Bhatia in the primary.
Rep. Chuy García projected to win Democratic primary for Illinois' 4th congressional district
The Associated Press has projected that Congressman Chuy García will win the Democratic primary in Illinois' 4th congressional district, fending off a challenge from Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez.García, a two-time Chicago mayoral candidate who has held the congressional seat since January 2019, is expected to hold on to his seat in the strongly Democratic district in the November general election.
Trump, Biden cruise to Illinois presidential primary victories
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, already the presumptive nominees for America’s two major political parties, have both won the 2024 Illinois presidential primaries, NBC News projects. Biden and Trump both secured enough projected delegates to earn the “presumptive nominee” label on March 12, according to NBC News projections.
More stories from how Illinois' primary election day unfolded can be found here.
