Wheaton's Sanguinetti declares victory as new Illinois lieutenant governor

WHEATON – Wheaton seems poised to have a familiar elected official serving near the top of the state government, as gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner and his lieutenant governor candidate and Wheaton City Council member Evelyn Pacino Sanguinetti have declared victory in their bid to become the leaders of Illinois.

Sanguinetti was viewed as a surprise choice when Rauner announced her as his running mate in October 2013, but has since been a large part of his outreach to both Latino and women voters statewide.

Addressing Rauner supporters during a broadcast Tuesday night, Sanguinetti said she was "overcome with emotion" about the victory and the promise of work to come.

"I believe that all of us decided that 12 years of one party rule was enough, so I've got one thing to say: Change is on the way," she said.

Though the duo's opponent, Gov. Pat Quinn, said he would "never, ever yield" until all votes in the state are counted, both Rauner and Sanguinetti were ready Tuesday to claim success.

"This is your victory – this is a victory for every family in Illinois," Rauner said in the broadcast.

Rauner touched on some of his biggest issues in addressing the crowd: lowering taxes, improving school spending and the economy and enacting term limits.

He said he had reached out to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Democrats, telling them the win was an "opportunity for us to work together."

"Voters have chosen to have a divided government, not so we can fight, not so we can bicker ... but so we can find solutions, bipartisan solutions to the problems of Illinois," he said.