The deadline has come and gone, and after a flurry of last-minute filings, the ballot for next year's elections has taken shape.

There were several surprises on Monday, the last day for candidates to file for the February 2010 primary and the November 2010 general election. For one, there are now eight candidates in the 14th Congressional District, as Rep. Bill Foster, who filed for re-election Monday morning, will face off with one Democrat and a slew of Republicans and one Green Party candidate all looking to unseat him.

In the Democratic primary, Foster will go up against James Pistorius of Aurora, who announced his candidacy in September. On the other side of the ticket, every previously announced Republican handed in their petitions on time, including state Rep. Randy Hultgren of Winfield, Ethan Hastert of Elburn (son of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert), Jeff Danklefsen of Geneva, Mark Vargas of Elgin and Jim Purcell of Batavia.

And then there is Dan Kairis of South Elgin, the lone Green Party candidate. Kairis previously ran for the Illinois House in the 55th District and has run for other offices as a Republican and a Reform Party candidate. He's also received press as a member of the Illinois Minutemen, an organization that opposes illegal immigration.

State Rep. Kay Hatcher will have two Republican opponents in February's primary in the 50th House District, which covers western Kane and most of Kendall counties. Outspoken Genevan Bob McQuillan filed Monday to challenge Hatcher, joining her and Kendall County Republican Chairman Keith Wheeler of Oswego on the GOP side of the ballot. On the Democratic side, Linda Healy of Aurora, the executive director of the Mutual Ground domestic violence shelter, remains the sole contender for the seat.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen will run for re-election in the 25th District, facing off against Republican P. Sean Michels, the village president of Sugar Grove, and Democrat Leslie Juby of Geneva.

State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia of Aurora is running without opposition from her own party and from Republicans, while state Rep. Timothy Schmitz of Batavia is uncontested in the GOP primary, where Democrat Jennifer Barconi also has filed.

Thirty-one candidates filed for 13 seats on the Kane County Board. Eleven of the 13 incumbents are running for re-election, leaving two vacancies, as neither Arlene Shoemaker, District 3, nor John Mayer, District 23, filed before the deadline. Many of the others will face stiff competition for their seats, from Republicans and Democrats alike. Only Phil Lewis, District 13, is running unopposed.

Two Republicans, Donald Kramer and Robert Russell, have lined up to challenge Democratic Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez. Jack Cunningham is running unopposed as a Republican for re-election as Kane County Clerk.

Updated filings were not available from Kendall County late Monday afternoon. The most recent information showed Sheriff Richard Randall, Clerk Debbie Gillette and Treasurer Jill Ferko running unopposed, and 12 candidates filing for four seats on the Kendall County Board.

Three incumbents kicked off re-election campaigns for judge in the 16th Circuit, all unopposed, while 12 candidates will jockey for three open seats, two in Kane County and one in Kendall County.