Downers Grove Township GOP Swept Away

DARIEN, IL – Downers Grove Township Democrats broke the Republican stranglehold on township offices in Tuesday's election.

It was the same GOP-controlled township that stayed publicly silent last year when a township trustee accused African American children of attacking whites in schools.

In the race for supervisor, Democrat Kim Savage defeated Republican incumbent Paul Coultrap with 59 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

The four-member township board of trustees is changing to all-Democrat, from all-Republican. Democrats Michelle Moreno, Karol Sole, Richard Friel and Kevin Szczerba prevailed with wide margins over Republicans Theresa McClear, Dave Ricordati, Philip Painter and Lorraine Grimsby. (McClear and Ricordati are incumbents.)

In the highway commissioner race, independent candidate Tom Chlystek, a former Darien alderman, defeated Republican David Smith with 58 percent. (Chlystek was previously a Democrat.) And Democrat Amanda Roudebush cruised past Republican Jashmine Fuentes in the clerk's race with 59 percent.

DuPage County has moved to the Democratic column in recent elections, as has been the case in suburbs across the country. But until Tuesday's election, the GOP had held on to many of DuPage County's township governments.

In a news release Tuesday night, Reid McCollum, chairman of the DuPage County Democratic Party, claimed victory in 48 out of 49 contested partisan races in township elections.

He called it a "seismic shift" in local politics.

"Voters have made it crystal clear that they want leaders who will bring transparency, fairness, and forward-thinking solutions to local government," McCollum said.

In March 2024, Downers Grove Township Trustee Kristina McCloy posted on the "Concerned Parents of Hinsdale" Facebook page about a DuPage County high school where she said an assailant stomped on a victim. She said the victim was knocked unconscious.

"Black children on white children attacks are frequently trending on social media," said McCloy, whom the board appointed the previous year. "Schools, parents and towns have been downplaying and even hiding it."

"It isn't racist to call out what you are blatantly seeing," said McCloy, who decided against running in the election. "Society should be outraged if any race/gender was perpetually being targeted for brutal attacks. This is child on child crime. Any adult complicit in letting this behavior persist, is aiding in child abuse!"

McCloy, a former Chicago Bulls cheerleader, provided no specific data on the race of attackers and victims in school incidents.

When Patch reported on McCloy's post last June, it contacted Coultrap, but he did not return the message. McCloy also did not return messages for comment.

In Illinois, townships have three mandatory jobs – assess properties for tax purposes, maintain roads in unincorporated areas and provide "general assistance" to the poor in limited circumstances. Townships often have assumed other duties as well.

Downers Grove Township includes all or parts of Darien, Downers Grove, Burr Ridge, Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills, among other towns.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story wrongly stated Tom Chlystek ran as a Democrat . He ran as an independent.