West Cook News

There are 13  competitive school board races in West suburban Cook County, according to an analysis of candidate filings by West Cook News.

Of the 13 school boards, 11 currently have Democrat majorities, according to an analysis of elected official primary voting history.

All told-- 78 candidates are running for 48 open seats across the nine districts, including 46 incumbents.

That includes 53 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

Incumbents include Kari Dillon of Lyons Township 204, one of the Chicago area's most ardent defenders of mandating masks on students.

Dillon abruptly ended a school board meeting last year when mask opponents voiced their opinions during public comment. She said the comments could not be critical of school board members.

"Do not interrupt (me)! That is not helpful," Dillon said, when members of the crowd protested.

Of the 91 current school board slots in the thirteen competitive districts, 69 are held by Democrats, 18 by Republicans and four by an independent.

Election Day is Tues. April 4.

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Which 2023 races are competitive in the West Cook suburbs?

13 school board races are in the balance on April 4. 

				Candidates
School Board	Current Split	Seats Up	Inc. Running	total	DEM	GOP	Other
Lyons Township HSD 204	7-0 Democrat	3	2	7	4	3	0
La Grange SD 102	7-0 Democrat	4	2	6	5	1	0
Riverside-Brookfield HSD 208	6-1 Democrat	5	5	7	6	1	0
River Forest SD 90	7-0 Democrat	3	1	4	3	1	0
Franklin Park SD 84	6-0-1 Republican	3	3	4	0	3	1
Mannheim SD 83*	4-1-2 Democrat	4	4	5	2	1	2
Elmwood Park CUSD 401	5-2 Republican	4	4	6	2	3	1
Westchester SD 92.5	4-2-1 Democrat	4	2	5	3	1	1
Oak Park & River Forest HSD 200	7-0 Democrat	3	0	4	4	0	0
Morton HSD 201*	4-3 Democrat	4	3	7	4	2	0
Berwyn South SD 100	7-0 Democrat	4	9	9	8	1	0
Berwyn North SD 98	7-0 Democrat	4	3	6	5	1	0
Proviso Township 209	7-0 Democrat	3	8	8	7	1	0
TOTAL		48	46	78	53	18	4

*Includes two elections for four seats; one for a two-year seat and one for three four-year seats.

Lyons Township HSD 204
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	7
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Jill Beda Daniels (I)	D	La Grange	49
Timothy J. Vlcek	R	La Grange	52
David R. Herndon	I	La Grange	55
Timothy Albores	D	La Grange Park	48
Justin M. Clark	D	La Grange	44
Kari Dillon (I)	D	Indian Head Park	50
Frank M. Evans	R	La Grange	53
Existing Board Members
Michael A. Thomas	D	La Grange Park	56
Dawn M. Aubert	D	La Grange Park	56
Jill A. Grech	D	La Grange	47
Julie M. Swinehart	D	La Grange	47
Members leaving board
Alison D. Kelly	D	La Grange	56
La Grange SD 102
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	6
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Tiziana Lambert (I)	D	La Grange	50
Catherine Murphy	D	La Grange	47
Bessie Boyd (I)	D	La Grange	68
Molly C. Knott	D	Brookfield	42
Kathryn Seipel McQuiston	D	La Grange	39
Therese N O'Sullivan	R	La Grange	38
Existing Board Members
Michael G. Melendez	D	Brookfield	44
Edward Campbell	D	La Grange	47
Jessica Mandra	D	La Grange Park	48
Members leaving board
Leah M. Werab	D	La Grange	44
Scott D. Wuggazer	D	La Grange Park	53
Riverside-Brookfield HSD 208
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	5
Candidates running	7
Candidate- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Nicholas J. Novak	D	North Riverside	43
Deanna L. Zalas (I)	D	Riverside	50
William T. Durkin (I)	D	Riverside	56
Kenyon D. Duner	D	Brookfield	48
Laura Hruska (I)	R	Brookfield	60
Candidate- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Michael J. Welch (I)	D	Riverside	62
Carolyn J. Lach (I)	D	North Riverside	54
Existing Board Members
Ryan VenHorst	D	Riverside	43
Lorena Gasca	D	North Riverside	49
River Forest SD 90
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Calvin R. Davis (I)	D	River Forest	54
Joseph S. Cortese III	R	River Forest	43
Eric J. Isenberg	D	River Forest	55
Kristine K. Mackey	D	River Forest	66
Existing Board Members
Katie Avalos	D	River Forest	45
Sarah Eckmann	D	River Forest	41
Nicole C. Perkins-Thompson	D	River Forest	47
Stacey Wyche-Williams	D	River Forest	55
Members leaving board
Barbra A. Hickey	D	River Forest	66
Richard P. Moore	D	River Forest	53
Franklin Park SD 84
Current Split	6-0-1	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Syed Wasey	R	Franklin Park	46
Jennifer N. Costa (I)	NV	Franklin Park	43
Stephen C. Dawson (I)	R	Franklin Park	63
Daniel LoCascio (I)	R	River Grove	65
Existing Board Members
Antionette Cronin	R	Franklin Park	67
Michael E. Special	R	Franklin Park	72
Lori M. Thomas	R	Franklin Park	66
James J. Wade, IV	R	Franklin Park	55
Mannheim SD 83
Current Split	4-1-2	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	5
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Marianne C. Anderson (I)	R	Melrose Park	69
Lyvette Medina-Jones (I)	D	Northlake	46
Maribel Ayala (I)	NV	Melrose Park	42
Magdalena Kalinowska (I)	NV	Northlake	43
Pascuala Herrera	D	Franklin Park	57
Existing Board Members
Humberto Chaidez	D	Franklin Park	61
Tammy Campeotto	D	Melrose Park	53
Members leaving board
Sandra J. Mich	D	Franklin Park	50
Elmwood Park CUSD 401
Current Split	5-2	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	4
Candidates running	6
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Jason Shipinski	R	Elmwood Park	50
Peter A Volpe (I)	R	Elmwood Park	61
Mary Bruscato (I)	D	Elmwood Park	67
Timothy P Loughnane (I)	R	Elmwood Park	43
Michelle J Silver	NV	Elmwood Park	53
Jennifer Ranallo (I)	D	Elmwood Park	41
Existing Board Members
Frank J. Parisi	R	Elmwood Park	61
Susan S. Capraro	R	Elmwood Park	71
Jonathan M. Rivera	R	Elmwood Park	35
Westchester SD 92.5
Current Split	4-2-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	5
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Rosemarie Ortiz (I)	R	Westchester	42
Stephanie L. Boyd (I)	D	Westchester	53
Cynthia Peranich	D	Westchester	43
Jerrid M Neal	NV	Westchester	43
TiShaunda McPherson	D	Westchester	43
Existing Board Members
Mary R. Douglas-Pieniazek	R	Westchester	46
Dana Wesolowski	D	Westchester	47
Gina C. Sanchez	D	Westchester	45
Members leaving board
Bryan Voegtle	NV	Westchester	45
Molly Quiroz	D	Westchester	44
Oak Park & River Forest HSD 200
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	4
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Timothy D. Brandhorst	D	River Forest	56
Jonathan E. Livingston	D	Oak Park	47
Graham Y Brisben	D	Oak Park	55
Brian D. Souders	D	Oak Park	51
Existing Board Members
Fred Arkin	D	Oak Park	47
Tom Cofsky	D	Oak Park	62
Kebreab Henry	D	Oak Park	41
Mary Anne Mohanraj	D	Oak Park	51
Members leaving board
Gina G. Harris	D	Oak Park	53
Ralph Martire	D	River Forest	63
Sara Dixon Spivy	D	Oak Park	48
Morton HSD 201
Current Split	4-3	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	7
Candidate- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Jeffry Pesek (I)	R	Cicero	50
Fernando Godinez	D	Cicero	51
Mark D. Kraft (I)	D	Berwyn	61
Johnny Joe Reyes	R	Berwyn	53
Suzanne Lee Donnelly	D	Berwyn	49
Candidate- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Maria A. Gallegos (I)	D	Cicero	68
Dolores S Sanchez	D	Cicero	27
Existing Board Members
Margaret Kelly	R	Berwyn	78
Sandra Tomschin	R	Cicero	60
Jessica Jaramillo-Flores	D	Cicero	48
Members leaving board
Lido Manetti, Jr.	D	Cicero	60
Berwyn South SD 100
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	9
Candidate- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Amanda F. Drenth	D	Berwyn	46
Jonathan P. Palles	D	Berwyn	45
Wendy Gonzales	D	Berwyn	36
Janel A. King	D	Berwyn	40
Summer M Butler	D	Berwyn	46
Amber Dawn (I)	D	Berwyn	47
Nicole White-LeGrand	D	Berwyn	34
Andrea M. Dressel (I)	D	Berwyn	41
Leo Vargas	R	Berwyn	52
Candidate- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Michael A Towner	D	Berwyn	62
Elizabeth O. Jimenez (I)	D	Berwyn	44
Existing Board Members
Claudine Randolph Andrews	D	Berwyn	45
Coryn Steinfeld	D	Berwyn	41
Joel Gonzalez	D	Berwyn	45
Members leaving board
Sarah Lopez	D	Berwyn	40
Berwyn North SD 98
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	9
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Alejandra Reyes	D	Berwyn	38
JoAnn Kulis-Kearns Valeriano (I)	D	Berwyn	69
Fritz Paul-Emile (I)	D	Berwyn	53
Melissa Marie Mouritsen	D	Berwyn	45
Brian Swade (I)	R	Berwyn	42
Jamie J. Najera	D	Berwyn	33
Existing Board Members
Jake Brown	D	Berwyn	27
Adam Mounce	NV	Berwyn	46
Clara I. Bruno	D	Berwyn	36
Elizabeth E. Cuevas	D	Berwyn	63
Proviso HSD 209
Current Split	7-0	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	8
Candidate	Party	Hometown	Age
Theresa L. Kelly (I)	D	Maywood	80
Claudia Medina (I)	D	Forest Park	56
David Ocampo	R	Westchester	38
Jennifer Wenzel Barbahen	D	Forest Park	41
Sandra Lee Hixson	D	Westchester	72
Jon Kubricht	D	Forest Park	46
Jayda T. James	D	Hillside	46
Maribel Aguirre	D	Hillside	49
Existing Board Members
Arbdella Patterson	D	Maywood	61
Samuel Valtierrez	D	Melrose Park	51
Rodney A. Alexander	D	Bellwood	55
Amanda J. Grant	D	Westchester	45
Members leaving board
Nathan Wagner	D	Forest Park	58

Source: Cook County Clerk; Illinois State Board of Elections