Anyone who follows Skokie politics knows that the Caucus Party has held several high-profile positions within the community.

The mayor is part of the Caucus Party, as is the Corporate Counsel (also known as the village’s lawyer) and all six trustees. This April, all six seats for trustee are open, as is the mayor’s seat.

At time of publication, there are nine candidates for trustee this April and the mayor is running unopposed, but may face a challenger in Hilaire Fuji Shioura if he completes the necessary paperwork to run. Mayor George Van Dusen was a trustee in 1984 and later became mayor in 1999. He’s known to be active with the various cultures in Skokie and has been quietly teaching at Oakton Community College in his off time for several years.

As for the trustees, three incumbents will be seeking reelection while three new Caucus Party candidates will be seeking their first term.

Trustees Randy Roberts, Edie Sue Sutker and Michele Bromberg will be seeking reelection. Newcomers Karen Gray-Keeler, Ralph Klien and Ilonka Ulrich are running for their first time. Gray-Keeler is currently filling in for Michael Lorge, who is now the village’s corporate counsel.

Who are the newcomers?

The most recent newcomer is Vincent Romano, who failed to defeat Illinois House Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie) last February.  Lang received more than 65 percent of the votes in February.

Meanwhile, Brian Novak and Lisa Lipin are running as Independents. Lipin founded the grassroots organization Skokie Voice while Novak serves on District 73.5’s school board.

To read our recent coverage on Novak, and for more on his background, click here. For Lipin, click here.

Candidate profiles en route –

Skokie Patch plans on running profiles on all candidates, beginning with Gray-Keeler this Monday.

If you have questions you’d like us to ask candidates, post a comment below.

 --

 Skokie Patch on Facebook