Liz Gorman to Face Jim Hickey in November for Cook County Board Seat

Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman held off a Republican primary challenge from Barbara Bellar Tuesday night for the 17th District seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, emerging victorious with close to 60 percent of the vote as of 9:15 p.m.

With 260 of 261 precincts counted as of 12:45 pm, Gorman had 13,149 votes to Bellar's 9,020, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. With 224,378 registered voters, turnout in this race was 11.6 percent.

"This was actually the big race," she told the Daily Herald Tuesday. "It's a very strong Republican district."

From Orland Park in the south to Rosemont and Elk Grove Village in the north, the district stretches more than 45 miles across Cook County's western edge and encompasses a range of issues.

During the campaign, Gorman, of Orland Park, touted her efforts to make the county more competitive to businesses and get the Stroger-era sales tax hike repealed.

Bellar, of Burr Ridge, who ran for the State Senate in 2012, is a licensed attorney and physician. At times during the campaign, Bellar described herself as the "real Republican" and criticized Gorman's work with Democrats.

"I'm very happy with the positive, issue-oriented campaign we ran," Gorman said. "My opponent tried to sling mud and it worked in our favor just to stick to the issues."