7 Candidates File To Run For Dist. 218 Board Seats In April 2021

OAK LAWN, IL — Candidate filing to run in school board elections in the upcoming April 2021 Consolidated Election opened Monday, with 482 candidates filing to run for school boards across Cook County. The candidate filing period lasts through Monday, Dec. 21, 2020.

School board candidates brought their nomination petitions on Monday to the Cook County Clerk's office in downtown Chicago, the Elections Operations Center in Cicero, and at filing centers in Orland Park and Mt. Prospect.

Seats are contested in CHSD 218's board races, which includes Richards, Shepard and Eisenhower high schools. Seven candidates filed to run for four open seats in D218's sub-districts. Incumbents Cindy Barteczak (Dist. 2), William Christian (Dist. 7) and Tom Kosowski (Dist. 4) filed their paperwork on Monday. It's not known if Randy Heuser plans to run for another 4-year term in Dist, 3.

Challengers D218 board races include Tanjilisa Williams, Matthew Heinlen, Candice Cantelo and Frank Gassmere Jr.

The Orland Park Civic Center saw the most traffic with 218 candidates submitting their paper work on Monday, followed by Mt. Prospect (140), Cicero (70) and the Cook County Clerk's downtown office (54). A list of candidates who filed paperwork to run in April 2021 can be found on the Cook County Clerk's website.

From Dec. 15 to Dec.18, and Monday Dec. 21, school board candidates' paperwork can only be filed at the clerk's office in downtown Chicago at 69 W. Washington St., 5th floor, or the Cicero Elections Operations Center, 1330 S. 54th Ave., Cicero. Historically, most candidates, as they are running for suburban school district seats, file at the suburban locations.

"It is very exciting to see so many people actively participating in the democratic process in their local communities," Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough said in a news release. "These elections are often overlooked although they have the most impact on our day-to-day lives."
All candidates who were in line by 8 a.m. on Dec. 14 had their papers stamped with that time.

If more than one candidate seeking the same office filed at 8 a.m., a lottery will be conducted to determine whose name will appear first on the ballot. Candidates for the same office who file between 4 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 21, the last day of filing, will also be included in a ballot lottery for the last spot on the ballot. Anyone who filed between 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 14 and 3:59 p.m. on Dec. 21 will be on the ballot in the order they turned in their nomination paperwork.

Candidates for other local jurisdictions, such as municipalities and municipal park and library boards, file with the district in which they are seeking election.

The Cook County Officers' Electoral Board, which is chaired by the clerk's designee and includes representatives from the State's Attorney and Circuit Court Clerk, oversees objections to school board candidates, in addition to hearing objections to library, police, fire and sanitary district candidacies. Municipal electoral boards hear objections to candidates for suburban municipal offices.