Despite a total of 17 seats up for reelection on the Sangamon County Board and increased eyes on county politics, only four of those races were contested.
Here’s a rundown of those contested races:
District 7, southwest Sangamon County
Republican Richard King, chair of the West Sangamon Republican Club political action committee, comfortably won the race to become a board member for District 7.
King defeated nurse Tara Bergschneider, who has been a vocal critic of the county’s data center zoning approval, with about 63% of the vote, nearly 1,600 voters to Bergschneider’s roughly 950.
King could not be immediately reached for comment following unofficial election results being released. Bergschneider told Illinois Times she’s still open to pursuing other public office and encouraged more residents to run for County Board in 2028 and beyond.
“There will be more engagement from constituents stepping up to run for office or figuring out how to represent a precinct, whatever it may be,” she said. “There’s not really any prerequisite to represent your county and fight for what you believe in other than breathing and already existing here, right? It is a God-given right to serve your community and I think people learned that this past year. I think that we’re going to see a lot more diversity in our elections coming up.”
District 12, southwest Springfield (special election, two-year term)
Democrat Sheila Feipel, a business development lead for Heart Technologies, defeated Republican Joel Oschwald, director for Central Illinois District Church Extension Fund, with 60% of the vote, roughly 2,200 voters to Oschwald’s nearly 1,500.
Feipel was recently appointed to fill the District 12 seat vacated by Marc Ayers, who resigned in April. She told Illinois Times she’s happy about her local result and midterms nationwide swinging for Democrat candidates.
“I’m very excited to be a part of what looks to be — even at the county level, but also at the national level — (a Democratic) blue wave,” she said.
Feipel also expressed her interest in turning more of the county’s recent mental health reports into actual policy while also seeking to revitalize District 12.
“We need so much economic development and good-paying jobs for hard-working people,” she said. “Sangamon County needs a fighter and I think Sangamon County got one, and here I am, and I’m ready to go to work.”
District 21, southern Springfield (special election, two-year term)
Incumbent Reggie Guyton, an actor with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, retained the District 21 seat he was appointed to in February 2025.
Guyton, a Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Connie Sebok, who previously worked for the Social Security Administration and District 186, with 63% of the district’s vote, about 1,000 votes to Sebok’s roughly 580.
Guyton told Illinois Times he’s “hoping to see real change” during his time on the County Board.
“I’m very thankful; thank you to all the Sangamon County voters, the District 21 voters. We had an incredible turnout this time for the midterms and I’m looking forward to, not only getting to work, but also to continue building connections within the county and hoping to see real change,” he said.
District 23, Springfield
Incumbent Tony DelGiorno, a practicing elder law attorney, received 2,169 votes, exactly 90 fewer than he received in the 2022 general election where he faced no challenger.
An initial count of write-in ballots showed Patricia Hayes, a retired attorney who campaigned against DelGiorno based on his support of the CyrusOne data center project, receiving just 135 votes.
This story will be updated. Election results are not finalized until Nov. 17.
