Village of Niles, Niles Library candidates file petitions to run in April 4 elections
The electoral battle for who might influence policy and finances in the village of Niles had its formal kickoff Monday morning as candidates for village board, library board and other public bodies gathered to file their petitions ahead of the April 4 consolidated elections.
In what is potentially the most acrimonious race in the village, seven candidates filed paperwork to run for terms on the board of the Niles-Maine District Library, while another two candidates planned to file later.
Current Trustee Becky Keane, appointed board member Umair Qadeer, who is awaiting his swearing-in to the board, and newcomers Roberto Botello and Jason Trunco waited outside the library for the 9:30 a.m. opening so Keane and Trunco could file their petitions.
Trunco said he filed 207 signatures in support of his run for trustee. Keane said she filed 149.
Qadeer and Botello did not hand in their petitions Monday morning. They told Pioneer Press they were waiting so they could make sure their paperwork was technically correct to avoid challenges.
“Given what just happened to me, I want to make sure all my t’s are crossed and my i’s are dotted,” Qadeer said.
He was referring to Treasurer Joe Makula’s recent motion for a legal restraining order that blocked Qadeer from being appointed to the board after Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White selected Qadeer to fill former Trustee Olivia Hanusiak’s seat in September.
“The signatures are valid; [I’m] just making sure the technicality of the way the petition was written up is accurate,” Qadeer said.
Keane, Qadeer, Botello and Trunco are running as a slate, though voters will select individual candidates on the ballot, not slates.
Self-described library fan Mike Movido, 34, who works as a marketing director, was also lined up to put in paperwork for a board run. He had 82 signatures to submit, he told Pioneer Press.
He said he’s running to lift the temporary hiring freeze that’s been in place at the library since May 2021.
“I love this library. It is my son’s favorite place in the world,” Movido said. “And my family comes here almost every day, sometimes twice a day. And we’ve seen just how much the staff are really hurting.”
Makula followed those candidates to file to run for another term on the board, with his attorney Daniel Kelley toting petitions for Steven Yasell, a former library board candidate, Steve Folga, a former library board candidate and Irina Byalaya.
Makula and Kelley had been across the road at Niles Village Hall less than an hour earlier so Kelley could file paperwork for candidates running for the village’s ethics board: David Laske, former Maine Township Trustee David Carrabotta, Paul Kotowski, Joy Alfonsi and Lisa Emmett Stechman.
Carol Bagley, Jill Boysen, Vera Pandev, Jerry Acciari and Jeffrey Riad Kash also filed to run for the Ethics Board.
Kash said he was running “to make sure that everybody’s held to a higher standard and that they’re held to what’s required of Niles.”
“I’ve lived here a long time; I have a lot of family here, I think it’s a great village,” said Kash, who added that he owns a business in the village. “I think they do a lot of great things [like] Fourth of July [and] Holly Jolly, and I just want to make sure that everything stays the way it is or better.”
Also waiting for Village Clerk Marlene Victorine to begin accepting petitions were candidates for the Niles Village Board: incumbent Trustees Dean Strzelecki and Craig Niedermaier and newcomers Marryann Warda and Morgan Dubiel, a former Niles Library Board trustee. Those four candidates are running on a slate.
Last week, former Niles Deputy Police Chief Vince Genualdi, who had earlier announced he would run for Niles trustee, announced the withdrawal of his candidacy.
Candidates who wish to run for office in the consolidated municipal elections have until Dec. 19 to submit their petitions, according to the Cook County Clerk.
