Reed Bible (center) and his wife, America (below right), celebrate Reed's win for the District 5 Will County Board seat after final absentee, grace period and provisional votes were counted in the Will County Board Room Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, at 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Newly elected congressman Bill Foster waves to supporters before giving an acceptance speech in Bolingbrook on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. | Jeff Cagle~For Sun-Times Media
Marcia Savio (center), stepmother of Kathleen Savio, is hugged by supporters Renee (left) and Dawn (right), both declined to provide their last names, after a guilty verdict was returned during the Drew Peterson murder trial at the Will County Courthouse Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012, in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Local Lodge 851 line up in the IBEW hall before they voted to approve a tentative six-year agreement with Caterpillar in Joliet, IL on Friday August 17, 2012. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Vickey Pogliano cries as she is comforted by Tom Vincent outside of the IBEW hall after members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Local Lodge 851 voted to approve a tentative six-year agreement with Caterpillar in Joliet, IL, on Friday August 17, 2012. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Fred Harvey, left, Debbie Mills and Michael Fitzgerald carry out evidence in the Christopher Vaughn trial, outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, IL, on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Allen Williams (left), machine repairman, and Mike Kara (right), machinist, cheer during a Solidarity and Community Support Rally for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers outside the Caterpillar plant Friday, May 11, 2012, at 2200 Route 6 in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Joliet resident Mary Konrath carries a sign as she awaits a verdict for the Drew Peterson murder trial at the Will County Courthouse Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
FILE - This May 7, 2009 file photo provided by the Will County, Ill., Sheriff's office shows former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson. Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of his former wife Kathleen Savio. He has pleaded not guilty. (AP Photo/Will County Sheriff's Office, File)
FILE - This undated file booking photo provided by the Will County Sheriff's Office in Joliet, Ill., shows Christopher Vaughn, of Oswego, Ill. A judge in Joliet, Ill., on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, sentenced Vaughn to life in prison for the June 2007 killing of his wife, Kimberly Vaughn, 34, and three children, 12-year-old Abigayle, 11-year-old Cassandra and 8-year-old Blake in the family's SUV as they drove to a waterpark. (AP Photo/Will County Sheriff's Office, File)
George Zartuche yells at a driver turning into the main entrance during a machinists union strike outside the Caterpillar plant off Route 6 Tuesday, May 1, 2012, in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
The Vaughns (upper left to right): Christopher, Kimberly, Abigayle and (bottom from left) Cassandra and Blake are shown in an undated photo in front of Rosemont Theater in the Chicago area, where the Phoenix University graduation was held. Kimberly and her three children were found dead Thursday, June 14, 2007, in the family's SUV on a service road near Channahon, Ill. Christopher Vaughn left a state police office Friday after hours of interviews with investigators. Police say the father isn't a suspect in the killings. HANDOUT
The year 2012 saw continued gains by the Democratic Party in Will County. The party won key electoral victories — from the presidential race right down to the first majority on the county board in three decades. The Democratic surge is The Herald-News’ top story … Read More