Not A Good Night For Center Cass Union

DARIEN, IL – Only one of the three union-endorsed candidates was ahead in the race for the Center Cass School District 66 board as of late Tuesday night.

Three of the board's seven seats were available in the election.

Tiffany Watson, who received the Center Cass Education Association's endorsement, led the five candidates, with 1,024 votes.

Following were Megan DuPass with 981 and Doug Wiley with 929, neither of whom received union backing.

As of the latest count, it appeared as if union-endorsed candidates Nicoletta Giancola-Shanks with 849 votes and Edson "Tripp" Burton III with 775 lost.

The results were in sharp contrast to the hard-fought races for the boards of Elmhurst School District 205 and Lyons Township High School. In those cases, the union-backed candidates all prevailed.

On behalf of the local union, the Illinois Education Association recently donated $12,000 to the Stronger 66 committee, according to the state Board of Elections website.

The committee funded the three union-backed candidates as well as Rachel Lazich, who ran against Eric Gustafson for the Darien City Council's Ward 6 seat.

Lazich's candidacy appeared to be payback for Gustafson's opposition to a nearly 20 percent property tax increase in Center Cass, which voters approved by a small margin in November.

Tax hike backers promised an opponent for Gustafson, with Lazich apparently that person. While Gustafson appeared to be on the way to victory, two other council incumbents are poised to lose.