Coveting the chance to work in the trenches of local politics, hundreds of candidates across the Chicago area began filing this week to run for seats on village boards, park districts, libraries and school districts.
“It shows a lot of people care about what’s going on in their communities and think they have the ability to lead their communities into the future,” said Mark Fowler, executive director of the 50-member Northwest Municipal Conference.
Non-partisan elections are scheduled April 5 in more than 200 suburban communities in the six-county region. A handful of towns such as North Chicago, Waukegan, Calumet City and Aurora will hold primaries Feb. 22.
The elections, officials say, give residents a chance to have their say–through the candidates they elect–on how best to deal with local problems.
Although turnout for municipal elections is typically lower than higher-profile races for statewide office, the filings this week showed there will be no shortage of candidates. The filing period ends Tuesday.
Balloting is expected to be especially heavy in communities with open seats for mayor due to retirements, deaths and, in some cases, criminal convictions.
In west suburban Cicero, for example, Town President Ramiro Gonzalez has three challengers to his bid for a full four-year term to succeed Betty Loren-Maltese, now serving an 8-year federal prison term for a 2002 conviction in an insurance fraud scam.
In neighboring Berwyn, Alex Bojovic is an alderman who helped federal authorities investigate a former mayoral aide indicted last year on bribery charges. Bojovic is running to replace Mayor Thomas Shaughnessy, who is stepping down. City Clerk Mike Woodward has been endorsed for the mayor’s post by the city’s Regular Democratic Organization.
And in south suburban Calumet City, Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush is in a three-way race to win election to her first full-term as successor to former Mayor Jerry Genova, who was forced to resign in 2001 after his conviction on federal corruption charges.
Qualkinbush is being challenged by former Calumet City Police Chief Pam Cap and Cheryl Cornelius, an ordained minister.
The race to succeed outgoing Aurora Mayor David Stover, who opted not to seek re-election after two terms, has caught the attention of some of the area’s most prominent politicians.
Eight of Aurora’s 12 City Council members support 18-year city employee Tom Weisner, 55. Former Kane County prosecutor Richard Irvin, however, has the support of several big-name Republicans, including Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego).
In southwest suburban Oak Lawn, four candidates are vying to succeed 26-year Mayor Ernest Kolb, who died in 2003. The candidates are Jayne Powers, the current village clerk; former Park District President Dave Heilmann; pediatrician Linda Shelton; and former state Rep. John McNamara.
And in west suburban Oak Park, three village trustees filed to succeed outgoing Village President Joanne Trapani, a gay rights activist who led the passage in 1997 of the state’s first ordinance setting up a domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples. Trapani decided not to seek re-election.
Several mayors challenged
Several mayors also face multiple challengers, who claim they could do a better job as chief executive.
In west suburban Melrose Park, the mayor’s race will be a family affair between Mayor Ronald Serpico and his aunt, Donna Stamatakos.
In north suburban North Chicago, three candidates filed to replace controversial freshman Mayor Bette Thomas, who has been involved in several highly publicized feuds with the city’s aldermen. Her challengers include former Mayor Jerry Johnson.
In north suburban Evanston, where city officials frequently clash with Northwestern University officials, attorney Peter Godwin plans to challenge three-term incumbent Mayor Lorraine Morton. Godwin is a member of the city’s Ethics Board.
Godwin said he wants to improve the often testy relationship between the city and the university, where his wife is a faculty member.
The most recent dust-up came last fall when Northwestern announced plans to remove from the city’s tax rolls an office building on Sherman Avenue.
Morton could not be reached for comment Tuesday. She was attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington.
Another hotly contested race will be in south suburban South Holland, where Mayor Don DeGraff, a 10-year incumbent, is being challenged by Robert Shaw, a former Chicago alderman and Cook County Board of Review commissioner. Shaw’s twin brother, William, is mayor of nearby Dolton.
William Shaw also has an April challenger. Ernesto Mickens Jr., president of the Dolton Elementary School District 148 board, wants to seek re-election to his school board position. But Mickens also plans to challenge the incumbent. William Shaw, a former state senator, is in his eighth year as Dolton’s mayor.
In DuPage County, four candidates seek to replace 20-year incumbent Warrenville Mayor Vivian Lund, who decided not to seek re-election. In Kane County, St. Charles Mayor Susan Klinkhamer, first elected in 1997, is being challenged by Village Trustee Don DeWitte, a self-described fiscal conservative.
The northwest suburbs also will feature several closely watched mayoral races, none likely to be more boisterous than in Barrington, home to some of the area’s roughest politics.
The big question is whether Village President Marshall Reagle will seek a second term. Reagle has been gathering signatures but wouldn’t say Tuesday whether he would run.
Karen Darch, one of several village trustees to battle Reagle over management and development issues, and David Schmidt, a Barrington Township trustee, filed their petitions for the race.
Top issue: economy
No matter the town or the race, however, the overriding issue that suburban officeholders will have to deal with involves how to jump-start their local economies in the face of escalating property-tax bills, officials said.
“Each community has its own set of challenges, but if there’s one issue we all face, it’s the state of the economy,” said Midlothian Mayor Thomas Murawski, who heads the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, representing more than 200 suburbs.
