Steve Gevinson 'Acts with Integrity and Courage': Letter to the Editor

Got something to say? Send your letter to the editor to oakpark@patch.com.

Dear Editor, I am writing to highly recommend Steve Gevinson for District 200 Board of Education. I have known Steve as a colleague, supervisor and friend for 19 years. He acts with integrity and courage, unafraid to ruffle feathers if he thinks something is in the best interest of students and the school community at large. Steve is always open to debating ideas, even when they are not initially to his liking. He clearly cares about the community and the school and has a wealth of relevant experiences and insights that would make him a great fit for the Board. In 2003, Steve was instrumental in convincing the administration and BOE to invest in the Spoken Word program at OPRFHS. If not for his impassioned advocacy, I would have likely …

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Steve Gevinson 'Best Choice' for School Board: Letter to the Editor

Got something to say? Send your letter to the editor to oakpark@patch.com.

I’ve known Steve Gevinson for over 40 years, as a friend, business associate and co-author of our book, Increase the Peace, a manual for teachers who want to facilitate discussions regarding school violence.  Based on that long-term experience, covering two-thirds of my life, I believe I speak with some authority about Steve’s character and suitability for a position on the school board.  Steve is perhaps the most ethical person I know. I do not mean to say he follows some strict code of conduct, but rather that he aims simply to do the right thing. He’s the sort of person who seems to believe that the world would be a better place if we do our best to be honest, forthright and decent to our fellow humans, even if it’s not always in our …

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Spring Election Candidate Forums Kick Off Later this Month

Events sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest

A forum focusing on the election for the River Forest District 90 school board will kick off a series of similar events to educate voters about candidates running in the local elections April 9. This program will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 at Concordia University, 7400 Augusta St., River Forest. It will be held in Room 200 of the Christopher Center. Other forums will be: The forums are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest.

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Village President Races Contested in Oak Park and River Forest

Several vying to be River Forest trustee; River Forest library board will have to name one person to its board.

  Candidates will vie to become village president in Oak Park and River Forest and there will be a contest for trustee in the latter community this spring. One other race in Oak Park will be competitive in the April 9 election as five people will be running for four seats on the library board, according to filing information provided by both communities. Three of them are incumbents. Several races will not be competitive including contests for Oak Park trustee and village clerk, park board in both communities and Oak Park Township. Information was not available on a slate for River Forest Township. As only one candidate filed documents to run for the River Forest library board of trustees, the sitting board will be required to fill the …

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Record Number of Candidates File in this Year's District 200 Contest

Fifteen residents will vie for four seats in April; one is an incumbent, another is a former teacher.

Fifteen people, a number of whom have never held public office before, will be vying for four seats on the Oak Park River Forest District 200 school board this spring. According to the list of candidates who filed their statements of candidacy by 5 p.m. Wednesday, the only incumbent to file for re-election is Terry Finnegan, who will be seeking his second term on the board. Three other sitting school board members - Dietra Millard, Amy McCormack McCormack and Valerie Fischer - all decided not to seek re-election. Fisher stepped in to complete the term of Jacques Conway, who resigned last year with two years remaining on his term. One candidate, Eric Davis, opted out of running for another term as Oak Park Township trustee and decided …

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Pride in River Forest Candidates File for Election

Pride in River Forest candidates file, run as group on Dec. 17.

Four candidates running as a group for positions on the River Forest Village Board in April filed the necessary documents at Village Hall in River Forest on Monday. The group, running as Pride in River Forest, includes longtime residents Michael Gibbs, Lissa Druss Christman, Kevin Hanley and Tom Dwyer. Gibbs, who has been a trustee since 2008, will be running for village president, while the other three candidates are seeking trustee positions on the village board. The group announced their plans to run in October. “Our candidacy is based on growing up in the community,” Gibbs said in their announcement. “All four of us attended neighborhood schools and were raised here. We are running as a team to ensure our children and grandchildren …

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There's Still Time to Run for Public Office

Residents wanting to run for public office in the upcoming local election still have a bit of time left to make up their minds. Filing starts Monday Dec. 17 and ends Dec. 26, thanks to a change in state law.

Oak Park Democrats Head to D.C. for Obama Inauguration

Want to go? Get the details below and join other Oak Park Democrats in celebrating Obama's re-election.

The Democratic Party is scheduling a bus to drive 50 folks to President Barack Obama's inaugural next month. It'll be a quick trip - just about two days. Here's the Itinerary: The cost is $150 per person. Sound like fun? Email dpop@donharmon.org to reserve your seat.

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Patch on Politics

Pat Quinn: Worst Governor in One of America's Worst-Run States

Take the Patch Poll: Does Pat Quinn deserve re-election or would you put another Democrat on the ballot in 2014?

Pat Quinn is so unpopular, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey, that Lisa Madigan and Bill Daley would easily beat him in a Democratic primary while Kirk Dillard and Dan Rutherford would topple him in the general election. Quinn says he's going to run for re-election in 2014, but as 2012 comes to an end only 25 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job he's doing as governor. Public Policy Polling says 64 percent of voters disapprove of Quinn's performance — "making him the most unpopular governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year." And there seems to be good reason for that. Last week, 24/7 Wall St. published a ranking of all 50 states, and Illinois emerges as the third-worst-run state in America, …

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