Neighbor Ends Elmhurst Alderman's Council Tenure: Election Results

ELMHURST, IL – The man who appears to have defeated Elmhurst's longest-serving alderman is also a neighbor.

Rex Irby lives two doors down from Ward 7 Alderman Mark Mulliner in the 800 block of South Hillside Avenue. (The other Ward 7 alderman, Mike Brennan, is two blocks away.)

In Tuesday's election, Irby was ahead with 707 votes to Mulliner's 670, according to unofficial results.

Mulliner has served on the City Council for a quarter century.

The last time that Mulliner faced opposition was in 2011, when he got 53 percent of the vote over Dean O'Brien.

In an interview, Irby, a vice president at a solar energy firm, said he appeared to have won, saying, "We partied pretty late last night."

He said Mulliner has not called to concede.

"He ran a good race," Irby said. "He's going to be my neighbor. The positive news is that nothing is really going to change between us. I have a feeling he'll stay involved heavily."

Last year, Mulliner took heat for managing the Facebook page of a new conservative group called Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, or EPIC. Its members contended critical race theory and Marxism were influencing Elmhurst School District 205's curriculum., calling out teachers by name.

Mulliner, a former District 205 technology official, later left his role as the group's Facebook page administrator.

In the interview, Irby said residents asked him to run because of their frustrations with Mulliner's involvement in EPIC.

"They don't want him meddling in the community with things like EPIC," he said.

He said he was surprised he appeared to have won given the higher-than-usual voter turnout. He credited the turnout to Mulliner's ability as a Republican precinct committeeman, bringing the "full muscle of his party."

Mulliner did not immediately return a message for comment Wednesday morning.

Mulliner is seen as an expert on zoning issues, among other topics.

Despite his side gigs, Mulliner has kept his political ideology at the door during City Council meetings.

In Tuesday's election, progressive candidates for the Elmhurst school board defeated Tom Chavez, EPIC's leader, and his allies.