March 26, 2025
ZONING, LYING ARE PARAMOUNT ISSUES IN EVANSTON, SCHILLER PARK MAYOR CONTESTS
All politics is local, and you cannot get any more micro-political than the 137 municipalities and 30 suburban Cook County townships which will hold elections on April 1, you know, April Fool’s Day. Mundane governmental housekeeping tasks need to be performed and there are plenty of self-interested politicians who are eager to “serve.” You, know, after April Fool’s Day.
EVANSTON: You have got to love a city of 75,070 which has foreign policy, a domestic policy and a humongous reservoir of affluent “Liberal White Guilt.” And also an ocean of virtue. But only a puddle of Trump worship. Biden won with 90 percent in 2020, Clinton with 87 percent in 2016 and Obama with 85 percent in 2012.
First, on foreign affairs, the city has told the world, particularly Russia, “don’t mess with Evanston, Illinois, USA.” And they did it not by amassing a military arsenal capable of swiftly resisting, retaliating and obliterating any foreign invasion or threat. No, Evanstonians are smarter than that. Back in 1985 they declared their city a Nuclear-Free-Zone (NFZ). A symbolic resolution declared a prohibition on the production of nuclear weapons within Evanston, barring any facility from researching, equipping, storing, supplying, or transporting any materials for the production of nuclear weapons. That’s what it was like in Evanston in the 80s.
Rumor has it that Russia’s generals were so impressed and intimidated that they re-calibrated their missiles’ guidance systems and instead now plan to plop a multi-megaton warhead on Skokie. Just kidding. But it’s the thought that counts, not the body count.
Second, Evanston is way ahead of the curve on racial issues. While other “progressive” cities give lip service to the concept of reparations, Evanston actually passed a Housing Restoration Act which gives 25K to any African-American who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 and their descendants. The cash grant can be used for home improvements or mortgage payments.
Third, the city is planning to change its zoning to permit the upzoning of property from R-1 (single-family home) to R-4 (four units). This would appear to be a great boon for developers who could knock-down pricey $1-2 million homes near the shoreline (but not on the Lake) and put up luxury 5-story condos worth $2 million each, and also a boon for sellers who could jack up their sale price. But not so much for those who will stay and view a monstrosity from their back yard. The “neighborhood character” will be forever changed. The ostensible reason is “density” – meaning more consumers for local business and more property tax payers.
But lurking in the dark is “affordability” – meaning set asides and price caps for lower income buyers, although Evanston has a sizeable Black population in the northwest section. Because the city controls the zoning it can dictate the price for at least one of the 4 units, perhaps cutting it by half. This decimates the developers’ profits.
This zoning change is THE issue in the 2025 mayoral race where mayor Daniel Biss is seeking re-election. His opponent is Jeff Boarini, a retired McDonald’s executive, who wants to stop the change. There are 53,094 registered voters, but 2021 municipal turnout was under 15,000. A lot of Evanstonians are really mad at Biss. Boarini won’t do as bad as Trump; he’ll get 40 percent.
SCHILLER PARK: Most politicians are known to lie, some more than others. Some might call it simple exaggeration or embellishment. And that’s OK with one’s fellow politicians, as long as the lies are to the voting public. But there is one cardinal rule: THOU SHALT NOT LIE to other politicians who claim to be your buddy and/or ally.
If you do you may not get your mouth washed out with soap but you will definitely get dumped (meaning unelected or not elected) at the earliest opportunity. That’s the situation with mayor Nick Caiafa, who was elected in 2017 after he and his buddies, which include Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens, also the area state representative (R-20) and Leyden Township Republican committeeman, engineered the dumping of then-mayor Barbara Piltaver from the Schiller Park First (SPF) Party ticket and then beat her in the election.
Parties can choose their own name, file paperwork with the city clerk, hold a public caucus (often attended by just a dozen people), pick their candidates, get petition signatures and get on the ballot. Or somebody can run as an Independent. In township races an R or D is permitted. There are no runoffs and a plurality wins.
This year SPF, with the concurrence of Stephens, dumped Caiafa and picked Chad Meyers, a village trustee, for mayor. The reason, according to sources, is that Caiafa reneged on his promise to serve only two terms. Caiafa heatedly denied the allegation: “I never said it. There are no term-limits” in Schiller Park, which has a population of 11,164. “I have a great record,” added Caiafa. Why were you dumped? He blamed collusion between Meyers, Stephens and the trustees and has his own Friends for Schiller Park ticket. Piltaver is running again as an independent.
SPF had more than $80,000 on-hand, some raised by Caiafa; it now belongs to Meyers and his slate. Schiller Park has 6,153 RVs but the 2021 turnout was just 1,381 and 2017’s 2,334. Caiafa thinks 900 votes will win in a 3-way race. Caiafa will upset Meyers by 40 votes.
DES PLAINES: Term limits are just swell for young aspiring politicians because it gives them an opening to win by not having to defeat an entrenched, well-funded incumbent. Not so much for the incumbent who sees an exit door looming. That’s the predicament of Mayor Andrew Goczkowski, an ambitious Democrat with great delusions about becoming a congressman.
Goczkowski was elected mayor in 2021 after being an alderman. He is unopposed in 2025 but will be termed-out in 2029 because Des Plaines limits officials to 8 years (2 terms). So, quite naturally, everybody elected is on the lookout for another office from “Day One.”
“Nobody’s running against him because nobody wants to waste their money” against an incumbent “ when they can run for an open seat in 2029,” said Mark Thompson, a former township supervisor. He has a point. Goczkowski had $7,263 cash-on-hand as of Dec. 31 and he is president of the Maine Township Democrats. The committeeperson (D) is state Senator Laura Murphy (D-28), who had over $200,000 on-hand.
The mayor’s job is part-time. Day-to-day operations are run by an appointed city manager with mayoral duties limited to presiding over city council meetings (two evenings per month) and ceremonial events. There is no financial incentive to run, or to spend lots of money. The only tangible benefit is to use the job as a steppingstone, like for state senator, state rep or county commissioner. Marty Moylan (D-55) was Des Plaines mayor when elected state representative in 2012. Matt Bogusz succeeded him (2013-21) but was viewed by Murphy as a rival.
Goczkowski does not have the stature to run for Congress. Expect Goczkowski to be first in line for Moylan’s seat when the incumbent, now age 74, retires in 2026 or 2028.
PARK RIDGE: Hillary Rodham Clinton is the city’s most famous legacy. She was born and raised there during an era when it was hip to be square. Hillary was a “Goldwater Girl” back in 1964, parading around in a skirt and sash for the conservative Republican presidential nominee, who won Park Ridge 60/40.
But then the Rodhams sent her off the college, to Wellesley and Yale Law and, according to Republicans, she got indoctrinated and her brain went south. I, for one, resent and reject that notion. Nobody goes to college and graduates dumber than when they began, do they?
Park Ridge’s politics were demarcated in 2016 – pre-Trump and post-Trump eras. Republicans were competitive pre-2016; not anymore. Harris-Walz won by 60/40 in 2024, as did Clinton-Kaine in 2016. The city is 84 percent White and a magnet for younger couples with children drawn by the high quality of Maine Township’s schools. They are late-stage Millennials or Gen Xers with college degrees who can afford a home and its $20,000 property tax bill.
They are subliminally elitist, think they are special and view Trump and the Republicans with disdain. PR’s population is 37,897 of which there are 30,193 RVs; the median income is $138,059 for a household, and $67,422 for singles. The mayor and alderman races are non-partisan and popular mayor Marty Maloney is steadfastly unaligned with either party.
He is opposed by Republican-backed Sal Rasponti, who will lose.
The other race of note is for city clerk. Murphy’s Democrats have endorsed Joan Mattingly while Mike Lupo has emerged as the consensus candidate for a coalition of independents and Republicans and has the endorsement of Democrat Moylan. Running against a woman makes Lupo a slight underdog.
Read more Analysis & Opinion from Russ Stewart at Russstewart.com
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