Who Will Be On the Cicero and Berwyn Ballots for the April 4 Elections?
Illustration by Paintbristle on Instagram
By Irene Romulo
Local elections will take place on April 4 for numerous boards in Cicero and Berwyn. Below is a list of candidates who will appear on the ballot for both towns. We included links to their websites where we could find them and included some of our past coverage for reference. Early voting starts on March 20. Click here for more voting information.
CICERO AND BERWYN VOTERS
Cicero and Berwyn voters will decide on new Morton District 201 board members. This board oversees all Morton schools. We've covered various issues related to the board, including ignored student petitions, student criminalization and high expulsion numbers.
Maria A. Gallegos and Dolores S. Sanchez are both running for one, two-year term. Gallegos was appointed to the board in March 2022 to replace Melissa Cundari.
Activists associated with Rizoma Collective denounced her appointment because of her alleged association with the Cicero Voters Alliance. Sanchez is challenging Gallegos as part of OneMorton, a group that wants to bring “transparency, equity, and accountability to our schools.”
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Voters will also get to pick three candidates for four-year terms. Five people are running for these positions. Frank Pesek and Mark D. Kraft are current members of the board. Fernando Godinez is currently a member of the Cicero Library Board. Suzanne Lee Donnelly is a challenger and has spoken up at board meetings to support a uniform policy change. Johnny Joe Reyes is a current member of the Morton West PTO. Both Donelly and Reyes are part of the OneMorton slate.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Voters will also see candidates for the Morton Community College board. There are two people running for two, six year terms.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
BERWYN VOTERS
Berwyn voters will get to vote for new school board members and representatives for the park districts.
Eleven people are running for five Berwyn South School District 100 board seats. Summer M Butler, who has pushed for Black voices to be incorporated into the school curriculum and who spearheaded the Berwyn Juneteenth celebrations, is running as a challenger. Butler, Amanda Drenth, Janel King and Jonathan Palles are all running under the banner of Your Berwyn.
Wendy Gonzalez, Amber Dawn, Nicole White-LeGrand and Andrea M. Dressel are all current board members seeking re-election for four-year terms. They are running as a group D100 Rising.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Six people are running for three Berwyn North School District 98 board seats. Brian Swade, JoAnn Kulis-Kearns Valeriano and Fritz Paul-Emile are all current board members seeking re-election. Alejandra Reyes and Melissa Marie Mouritsen are also part of Your Berwyn.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Berwyn voters will also be casting their votes for representatives for their park district. Four people are running for two seats. Janet A. Macking and Jeanmarie Hajer-O’Connor are current board members. Kelly Diaz and Angel Avalos Jr. are part of the Your Berwyn slate. Ana M. Espinoza is running for a six-year term unopposed.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
CICERO VOTERS
No one is challenging the town of Cicero board trustees. These names that you’ll see below are of the current board members. Blanca M. Vargas was first appointed to the position in March 2022.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Voters will also see three people running for three spots on the library board. Rose Marie Esposito is currently a member of the board and is seeking re-election.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
This year, Cicero residents will see names for the Cicero School District 99 board. All of the people on the ballot are current board members.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Two names will appear for the Clyde Park District. The two people on the ballot for the two open seats are already on the board. Nelson Acevedo tried to challenge them but he was not allowed to be on the ballot.
Image taken from the Cook County Clerk's Office website.
Wondering why not that many new candidates run in Cicero? Read past coverage here and watch this recording on how to run for office.
Editorial note: before deciding to run for the Morton District 201 board, Dolores S. Sanchez was a member of Cicero Independiente’s volunteer end of the year fundraising committee.
Irene Romulo is the development and community engagement coordinator for Cicero Independiente.
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