Whose races will be hot?

The Daily Herald covers about 32 suburban House and Senate seats up for election next year. With petitions now in to get on the ballot, we have dug behind the names to learn more about what voters can expect this primary and into the general election.

For the primary, several Republicans are facing challenges while Democrats are largely given a pass. The most intense primaries include challenges to state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora, state Rep. Suzie Bassi of Palatine and state Rep. Kay Hatcher of Yorkville.

But the real heat will come in the general election. Remember that 10 state legislative races in the Daily Herald's suburban coverage area drew $11 million in spending last year.

Looking ahead to the general election showdown, we can tell you to expect heated challenges to Democrats who have made gains in the suburbs over the last several election cycles. Among the targets: state Rep. Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates, state Rep. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights, state Rep. Keith Farnham of Elgin, state Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills, state Sen. Michael Noland of Elgin and state Sen. Michael Bond of Grayslake. Others to watch include state Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook and, of course, the open seat from retiring state Rep. Paul Froehlich of Schaumburg will draw interest.

Republicans are not without a challenge. Top targets for Democrats appear to include state Rep. Dennis Reboletti of Elmhurst, state Rep. Suzie Bassi of Palatine and state Rep. Darlene Senger of Naperville. Others to watch include state Sen. John Millner of Carol Stream and Lauzen of Aurora.

Of course, it remains to be seen how well the campaigns are managed and whether the party leaders will come in to make the races competitive. And this list doesn't mean other competitive races won't emerge. A lot can change in a year.

Animal Farm ran the first in a series of roundups on the races on Nov. 5. You can read that here.

Now we bring a look at all the remaining contests.

Senate

28th

Former police chief John Millner of Carol Stream faces no primary opposition. In the general election, though, he is set to face St. Charles resident Corrine Michelle Pierog, who sits on the District 303 school board. The consultant seems to be well connected and once worked as the executive director of the Barrington Area Arts Council.

25th Senate

Incumbent Chris Lauzen faces a primary challenge from P. Sean Michels, three-term mayor of Sugar Grove. Lauzen has been a thorn in the side of the Republican establishment for years. This is seen by some as payback. A bitter primary will lead right into a general election challenge from Geneva school district board member Lesile Juby. Lauzen, who has been in office since 1992, lost a primary bid for congress to Jim Oberweis in the race to replace Dennis Hastert in the 14th District House seat. Lauzen last won his Senate seat in 2006 with about 65 percent of the vote .

22nd Senate

Republican Steve Rauschenberger of Elgin is making a run to take back his Senate seat from Democrat Michael Noland. Rauschenberger gave up his Senate seat to run for lt. governor, but he lost in a crowded primary. Since then the budget expert has been working with national government organizations and helping to raise funds for party organizations. He appeared in a small movie attacking Barack Obama last year. Noland beat Streamwood Village President Billie Roth in 2006 to take the seat for the Democrats.

31st Senate

Democrat freshman Michael Bond won the historically Republican seat in and around Grayslake after a bitter Republican primary between Sue Simpson and incumbent Adeline Goe-Karis, who had held the seat since 1979. Geo-Karis was defeated in the GOP primary by Simpson and she went on to actively campaign for Bond, who has become well known in the district for his solid organizing skills. Bond is now going to face a tough challenge next year from Lake County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt of Lake Villa.

House

63rd

Jack Franks had no challenger in 2008. That might not happen this year. McHenry Republican John O'Neill has submitted petitions to get on the ballot. He is a McHenry School Board District 15 member and sits on the local library board. His Twitter page says he is "just a regular conservative guy trying to make it in this world." It also says he has been out of work since February. One of the latest posts reads, "I'm still looking for a job. If anybody needs a terrific trainer or super sales manager in the Chicago area have I got a deal for you!" Hamen is also a Sunday school teacher at The Church of the Holy Apostles.

57th

Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook will face Prospect Heights Alderman Richard Hamen in the general election. Nekritz easily fended off a GOP challenge last year when party backing for a local Republican insider apparently fell apart. Hamen is a Desert Storm veteran and works for Abbott Laboratories. The Republican backed a 1.5 percent local tax hike on sit-down dining and says on his Facebook page that he supports health care for everyone under 18 years of age because "kids don't get to choose how rich or poor their parents are."

50th

Freshman Kay Hatcher of Yorkville is facing a challenge from both an establishment candidate and a grassroots activist in the Republican primary. Keith Wheeler of Oswego is chairman of the Kendall County Republicans. At the other end is Bob R. McQuillan of Geneva, who is involved in local anti-tax activism through the group Fair Accountable Controlled Tax Spending. He lost a race for school board in 2005. If Hatcher gets through the primary, she faces Linda Healy of Aurora in the general election. Hatcher won a four-way GOP primary in 2008 with 56 percent of the vote and went on to win the general election for the Republican seat with 57 percent of the vote.

54th

Suzie Bassi of Palatine is expected to face a spirited primary challenge from local businessman Thomas R. Morrison. In the general election, Matt Flamm of Palatine is waiting on the Democratic ticket. Flamm is a local attorney who learned a lot about campaign organizing canvassing for Barack Obama in Iowa.

62nd

Sandy Cole is being challenged in the Republican primary by business consultant and Air Force veteran Paul Mitchell of Hainsville. Cole, a former Lake County Board member, has been in office since 2007 and she faced no competition in the general election or the primary last year. Democrat Rich Voltair of Round Lake Beach, a doctor of politics and fromer Chicago House Authority contractor monitor, has filed. His campaign Web site is already leaning heavy on the "stop corruption" theme.

43rd

Freshman Keith Farnham, a union guy, unseated Ruth Munson of Elgin last year in one of the region's most contentious races. Munson is hoping to make a comeback next year. Neither has a primary opponent. Munson, a former Elgin City councilwoman, held the seat from 2004 to early 2009.

96th

Darlene Senger took this Naperville-based seat after an expensive fight with a teacher's union Democrat. But she took it with the slimest of margins: 49 percent to 48 percent. A Green Party candidate took 3 percent of the vote. For next year, there is no Green Party candidate on the ballot as of yet. Democrats have recruited Dawn DeSart, a newly elected member of the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board. DeSart wasn't a favorite of the teacher's unions in that school board race and she only spent a few hundred dollars. She is a former Ch. 5 traffic reporter.

Republican lawmakers that don't a primary challenge or a Democrat filing in the primary in their district includ e : Rosemary Mulligan of Des Plaines (65th House), Mike Fortner of West Chicago (95th House) and Mark Beaubien, Jr. of Barrington Hills (52nd House).