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The votes are in from Lake County, Illinois, as of 1626 CST, meaning that all votes are now in. The "Northwest Herald" had reported that Cook County's votes were all in, and, at that point, Walsh lead Melissa Bean by 311 votes district wide. The Lake County Clerk was the last to report. Of the absentees and provisionals, Walsh got 459 votes, for a total countywide of 55,148, and Bean got 473 votes, for a total countywide of 52,025. This means that Walsh has a 297 vote lead with all votes now counted. Congratulations to Joe Walsh!!! GOP member #241...

Republicans took a step toward political revival Tuesday in Illinois, where they nominated viable moderates (relatively speaking) in two key races. Performances this fall by Judy Baar Topinka and David McSweeney, while isolated to specific races, could say a lot about how Republicans fare in midterms elections. Not just in the Land of Lincoln, but in suburbs across the country. Putting a higher priority on victory than ideology, GOP primary voters chose Topinka, a polka-dancing, cigarette-smoking, foul-mouthed moderate with ties to disgraced former Gov. George Ryan (R), over two buttoned-down conservatives vying to challenge Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), in what...

Freshman Democrat Melissa Bean will "pay a serious price" for voting for the Central American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House, a top labor leader said Thursday, predicting that unions will deny her crucial support in her effort to hold on to her northwest suburban congressional seat. "Almost all the unions in this particular area supported her both with mobilization -- knocking on doors -- and with money, and up comes what is a true test in terms of a vote, and she can't stand with us?" said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and...