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Three independents to take on Skokie’s Caucus Party in April
Vincent Romano of Skokie, who unsuccessfully ran against State Rep. Lou Lang (D-16th) in November, is the third independent candidate to run for a Skokie Village Trustee seat in next spring's election. | File photo
Updated: February 4, 2013 6:24AM
SKOKIE — A third independent candidate has filed nominating papers to run for Skokie village trustee in April and will take on six Caucus Party-slated candidates vying for a half-dozen open seats on the board.
One Skokie resident also filed nominating papers to run against Caucus-slated incumbent Mayor George Van Dusen, though when the Skokie Review checked his submitted papers, some mandatory documents were not filed, leaving him open to a possible challenge.
The Caucus Party currently holds all six Village Board seats as well as seats for the mayor and the village clerk. It has been rare in recent years when Caucus Party candidates have faced opposition.
The deadline for filing mandatory nominating papers was 5 p.m., Dec. 26.
Vincent Romano is the latest trustee candidate to file nominating papers to run in the April 9 election. Romano may be familiar to those who voted in November; he lost to State Rep. Lou Lang (D-16th), winning 32 percent of the overall vote in a state house race.
Romano is a full-time financial advisor and a partner with the Romano Group “whose primary focus is to guide the investment strategies of retirees in achieving their primary goal of maintaining their standard of living throughout their retirement years,” according to recent campaign material.
He also worked in the family business in real estate and assisted his father and brother in the Financial Services Industry after serving in that industry as an intern during college.
Other independent candidates running for village trustee next April include Lisa Lipin, former chairwoman of the active residents’ association, Skokie Voice, and successful community and consumer activist; and Brian Novak, Skokie School District 73.5 trustee.
Novak also has been on the Board of Directors of Skokie Voice, but the organization remains non-partisan and not political. Novak and Lipin, who are running separately, said they decided to run for trustee seats independent of the residents’ association.
The slated Caucus Party candidates that the three independents will face are a mixture of incumbents and newcomers.
Village Trustees Edie Sue Sutker, Randy Roberts and Michele Bromberg will seek re-election alongside slated candidates Ralph Klein, current Zoning Board chairman and former Caucus Party president; Karen Gray-Keeler, former Plan Commission member; and Ilonka Ulrich, current Zoning Board member.
Gray-Keeler already holds a trustee seat as she was recently appointed to fill a vacancy.
Three trustee seats became open to newcomers only when Don Perille, one of the longest-serving Village Board members in Skokie’s history, and Village Clerk Marlene Williams decided to step down and Corporation Counsel Pat Hanley retired.
Trustee Michael Lorge, a lawyer, took over for Hanley as the village’s corporation counsel, leaving his seat open.
Also filing before the Wednesday afternoon deadline was Hilaire Fuji Shioura who would go up against Van Dusen for mayor.
Election law requires that candidates turn in a statement of candidacy and a receipt of economic interest along with petition papers. The first two documents appeared to be missing when the Skokie Review inspected nominating papers after the filing deadline. But Shioura would remain on the ballot unless he is officially challenged.
