DuPage County voters will pick their next county board chair on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a race that touches Wheaton directly through a crisis center on its soil and a proposed transportation complex at the county fairgrounds.

Results are not yet available and pending. The DuPage County Election Division will post unofficial results on its election results page throughout the night after polls close. Official results will follow after canvassing is complete.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters in line at 7 p.m. will still be allowed to cast a ballot, according to NBC Chicago. A ballot drop box in Wheaton is located at the DuPage County Fairgrounds, 2015 Manchester Road, according to Patch.

The candidates

Democrat Deborah Conroy, 64, is seeking a second four-year term. She was first elected board chair in 2022 after serving 10 years in the Illinois House of Representatives, the Chicago Tribune reported. She became the first woman and first Democrat to lead the county board in decades, according to the Tribune.

Republican Gary Grasso, 75, is the mayor of Burr Ridge, a post he has held since 2019. He previously served on the DuPage County Board from 2012 to 2018 and as Burr Ridge mayor from 2005 to 2012, the Tribune reported.

What's at stake

The board chair serves as the county's chief executive officer, overseeing board meetings, setting the agenda and preparing the annual budget, according to the county's website. The winner will serve a four-year term.

A proposed $710 million county budget is expected to go before board members for approval in late November, the Tribune reported. Grasso has questioned the growth of that budget, which was $510 million in fiscal year 2024, according to the Tribune. The Center Square reported that Grasso said the budget rose about 22% from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2027.

Conroy said the county's property tax rate has remained flat and that the county is on track to be debt free by 2035, the Tribune reported. She said increased sales tax revenue has helped fund projects and services.

Wheaton connections

Conroy counts the opening of the county's Crisis Recovery Center in Wheaton in 2025 among her achievements. The center provides addiction recovery and mental health resources and completed more than 2,000 on-site assessments in its first year, the Tribune reported. If reelected, Conroy said she hopes to pursue a satellite campus for the center in the southern part of the county.

Grasso has questioned a proposed $84 million transportation complex to be built on the county fairground property in Wheaton. Board members have been planning the complex since 2024, and the proposed budget sets aside $45 million in the coming fiscal year to cover part of the cost, the Tribune reported. Grasso suggested the county should instead work with township highway commissioners to consolidate maintenance programs.

Salary dispute

An April vote that raised the board chair's salary to $185,000 has been a focal point of the campaign. The 13-4 vote drew bipartisan support, but critics argued the approved salary exceeded the initial proposal, the Tribune reported. The two outlets that covered the race reported different figures for the pre-raise salary. Grasso has said he would seek to rescind the increase or donate it if it could not be rescinded. Conroy said she did not have a vote on the matter and noted a Republican board member suggested the higher amount.

Voters can track unofficial results on Election Night at the DuPage County Election Division site.