Harris projected winner for Illinois’ 19 Electoral College votes

(The Center Square) – Numbers are starting to roll in with the polls closed across the state, but the official tally won't be available for some time.

Illinois allows for mail-in voting. Of Illinois' more than 8 million registered voters, nearly 1.3 million requested mail in ballots. As of midday Tuesday, 859,000 were returned. Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said voters should be patient for official results as Illinois will count all properly posted mail in ballots up to two weeks after the election.

"Realistically, within three or four days, most of those outstanding vote-by-mail ballots will arrive," Dietrich said.

Early numbers coming in show Kamala Harris as the projected winner over former President Donald Trump for Illinois' 19 Electoral College votes.

For the three non-binding statewide advisory questions, early numbers show majority support for the millionaires surcharge for property tax relief, access to fertility treatment and penalties for candidates interfering with election workers.

In races for the U.S. Congress, in the 6th Congressional District incumbent, U.S. Rep. Sean Casten is leading Niki Conforti, 51% to 49%.

The 12th Congressional District race has incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Bost with 56% to Brian Roberts' 44%.

In the 11th Congressional District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster has 71% to Jerry Evans' 29%.

Incumbent Congressman Darin LaHood, who ran unopposed, released the following statement on his reelection victory.

"I am grateful to the voters in the 16th Congressional District for putting their confidence in me," he said. "I will continue to take our commonsense, conservative principles to Washington and ensure our communities get a seat at the table for important policy discussions."

Cook County voters are selecting a new state's attorney. Seeking to replace outgoing State's Attorney Kim Foxx are former judge Eileen O'Neill Burke, a Democrat, and Republican Bob Fioretti, a former Democratic alderman.

With 85 of 1,430 precincts reporting, Burke has 64% of the vote. Fioretti has 32%.

For Cook County Clerk, Democrat Monica Gordon has 64%. Michelle Pennington has 32%.

Chicago is holding its first school board elections in 10 districts across the city. The Chicago Teachers Union has an endorsed candidate in each race, as CTU aims to grab even greater control over Chicago Public Schools administration. One of those candidates, Aaron Brown ran unopposed and has already won.

In Chicago's congressional races, Democrats have substantial leads in the early-going as votes are being counted.