Tuesday’s suburban elections feature controversial figures, strange party names and Flossmoor’s first woman as mayor
Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes in municipal elections, choosing mayors and village presidents in multiple Chicago suburbs.
Many longtime incumbents are stepping down, while others are being challenged for reelection. Among the races to watch are Flossmoor, which will election a woman as mayor for the first time in its 100-year history, and north suburban Mettawa, where, Casey Urlacher, the brother of former Chicago Bears star Brian Urlacher, is running for reelection as a write-in candidate months after then-President Donald Trump pardoned him in January of federal sports gambling charges.
In addition, school board races, which often draw little attention, have drawn outsized interest and candidates as parents angry about school closings and remote learning are making their voices heard.
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Some candidates in Tuesday’s suburban municipal election are no strangers to controversy
One candidate has been the subject of a federal investigation. Another stands charged in a red-light camera case. Another was charged with taking part in a gambling ring. All are among the mayors and village presidents running for reelection in Chicago’s suburbs in Tuesday’s general municipal election.
As voters choose their local leaders, some longtime incumbents are stepping down, including in Evergreen Park, Frankfort, Northbrook, Lake Bluff and Oak Lawn, leaving wide open races for new leadership, while in Aurora and Hoffman Estates, incumbents face multiple challengers.
One of the more hotly contested races is in southwest suburban Lyons, where federal agents raided the village hall and the private insurance office of Mayor Chris Getty in 2019 as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation.
Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
Flossmoor residents to elect first woman as mayor to replace retiring Paul Braun
For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, Flossmoor will elect a woman as mayor. Michelle Nelson and Dr. Lakshi Emory will face off for the office as incumbent Mayor Paul Braun steps down after 12 years.
Flossmoor turns 100 in 2024 and both candidates would like to be there to lead the celebration.
Read more here. —Jeff Vorva, Daily Southtown
COVID-19 has left its imprint on school board contests throughout the suburbs, with parents’ frustration over school closings and remote learning driving more attention, and new candidates, to many races — possibly with consequences that last well beyond the pandemic.
Pre-pandemic, suburban school board contests were often no-drama affairs, in some cases, failing to attract enough candidates to fill open seats. But this election arrives in the wake of a tumultuous 2020 campaign season that was punctuated by parents protesting for reopened schools, marathon school board meetings and even lawsuits, including one filed against school board members in Naperville- and Aurora-based Indian Prairie School District 204 by a group of parents who allege a coordinated “cover-up of COVID-19 planning.”
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta, Rafael Guerrero
When the calendar turns to the spring municipal elections, political passions are no longer contained to Republicans and Democrats. In suburb after suburb, you’ll find parties with monikers like People Before Politics, We’re in This Together, You Are the Village’s Heart, the Common Sense Again Party, the United Party for Progress or, most expansive of all, the Party of the Past, Present and Future.
Behind the oddball names, though, are serious political strategies.
Read more here. —John Keilman
Federal indictment hangs over Crestwood mayoral race
Despite being dogged by federal charges that he accepted bribes to promote a red-light camera company, incumbent Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta says he is confident about his chances of being reelected to a third term.
Presta says that village finances are in good shape and that Crestwood has been able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales tax revenue last year rising compared with 2019.
He is being challenged by attorney John Toscas, who was a village trustee and ran for mayor in 2013, when Presta was first elected.
“I’m running because he’s indicted and still running,” Toscas said.
Read more here. —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
Waukegan mayoral candidates define their differences during virtual forum
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham and his challenger in the April 6 mayoral election, Ald. Ann Taylor, 9th Ward, offer different visions for the city’s future.
Taylor wants to fundamentally change the role of the mayor by hiring a city administrator to manage the town’s operations more efficiently, while Cunningham wants to follow through on his vision for entertainment venues at the lakefront and a casino near Fountain Square.
Read more here. —Steve Sadin, Lake County News-Sun
Police chief plays role in Dolton and Dixmoor mayoral elections
Ronnie Burge is going to be busy enough checking the results of the Dolton mayoral election April 6.
The independent candidate is running against trustee Tiffany Henyard, who won a four-person Democratic primary that included incumbent Riley Rogers.
But Burge will also be watching the mayoral race in Dixmoor, where he is the police chief. Incumbent Yvonne Davis and trustees Fitzgerald Roberts and Cynthia Mossuto are running for mayor. Because the mayor appoints police chiefs, Burge has a vested interest in that race.
Read more here. —Jeff Vorva, Daily Southtown
2 candidates to face off in April’s election to replace longtime Northbrook village president
Two candidates are vying for the role of village president in Northbrook, as longtime President Sandy Frum plans to step down in April.
In separate interviews with Pioneer Press, candidates Kathryn Ciesla and Eugene “Gene” Marks shared their visions for Northbrook in the coming years if they are elected in the spring municipal election on April 6.
Read more here. —Kaitlin Edquist
Aurora mayoral candidates clash on development issues
Aurora’s three mayoral candidates in the April 6 election traded barbs while discussing their philosophies about future development in the city.
Incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin, and challengers Ald. Judd Lofchie, 10th Ward, and John Laesch, faced off last month during a candidates night sponsored and moderated by the Citizens of Metea, Waubonsie Valley Youth & Government, as well as student civic leaders from East and West Aurora high schools.
Read more here. —Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon News
In a rematch of an election four years ago that ultimately hinged on a jump in the mayor’s salary, this year’s mayoral race in Orland Park touches on issues such as public safety in a community that touts its low crime rate, and the economic future of a village that is envied by neighbors for its massive tax-generating commercial base.
First-term Mayor Keith Pekau, 54, heading the People Over Politics ticket, cites numerous business openings over the last four years while the man he ousted in 2017, longtime Mayor Dan McLaughlin, 67, pushes the need to diversify the village’s economy to be less dependent on retail.
Read more here. —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
Norridge mayor candidates Benigno, Tannhauser talk issues
The April 6 election will decide the next mayor of Norridge. Daniel Tannhauser, who was appointed as village president in July 2019, is being challenged by Illinois Deputy Secretary of State Tom Benigno for the post. Both shared their qualifications and stances in candidate profiles.
Read more here. —Lisa Cisneros, Pioneer Press
3 running for mayor in Blue Island, cite ‘deplorable’ infrastructure as a top issue
Fixing Blue Island’s streets and other infrastructure, and finding the money to do it, is a top concern of voters heading into the April 6 election, candidates for mayor say.
Incumbent Domingo Vargas facing challenges from city clerk Randy Heuser and 2nd Ward Ald. Fred Bilotto.
Read more here. —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
St. Charles mayoral candidates highlight issues concerning development, pandemic
The contest for mayor in St. Charles in the April 6 election features two City Council members — Maureen Lewis and Lora Vitek — seeking to replace current Mayor Ray Rogina, who is stepping down after his second term.
Read more here. —David Sharos, Aurora Beacon-News
Village president candidates discuss issues facing Oak Park
After eight years, the village of Oak Park will have a new village president as two-term incumbent Anan Abu-Taleb will not be seeking a third term in the April 6 election. On the ballot, voters will decide between Vicki Scaman, the village clerk, and Cate Readling, a community activist, as the next leader of the village board.
Read more here. —Steve Schering, Pioneer Press
Candidates for Wilmette village president talk development, infrastructure and more
As the April 6 municipal election approaches, the two candidates vying to become Wilmette’s village board president discussed everything from affordable housing to sustainability during a virtual forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Candidates Senta Plunkett and Joel Kurzman answered questions at the March 13 forum from a league moderator that allowed them to outline their priorities and plans if they are elected to a four-year term this April. Both candidates are current members of the Wilmette Village Board.
Read more here. —Brian L. Cox, Pioneer Press
