Conservative Group Backs 3 LTHS Candidates

LA GRANGE, IL – A conservative group that warns parents about the indoctrination and grooming of children has endorsed three candidates for the Lyons Township High School board in Tuesday's election.

Awake Illinois supports Tim Vlcek, Frank Evans and David Herndon. The other candidates are incumbents Kari Dillon and Jill Beda Daniels and newcomers Tim Albores and Justin Clark. Three seats are available in the election.

In its endorsement, Awake Illinois cited dropping test scores in the high school.

Patch left an emailed message Monday morning with the three endorsed candidates about whether they accept the group's support.

In an interview, Evans said he didn't ask for the endorsement and that the group has not helped him financially. But he said he appreciated the support of any group that aligns with parents' rights.

Evans criticized the way the school handled the masking of students, saying parents were left out of the equation.

"I will stand up for parents' rights regardless of race or socioeconomic background," Evans said. "Any support I can get for those positions I appreciate."

In an email, Vlcek said, "I’m unaware of any endorsement from Awake nor have I requested one. I’ve run my own campaign delivering my message on my platform."

Herndon said in an email that he did not seek the endorsement and that Awake did not speak with him about it.

"I made it clear from the start of my campaign since this was supposedly a nonpartisan election, I was not seeking or wanting any endorsements from any political organizations, and therefore I do not accept it," he said. "I have received a broad range of endorsements from people that I have never met or spoken to. Because someone endorses me does not mean I absorb their platforms or values. All of this outside influence from all sides is distracting from the issues in this race which is how best to educate kids and bring transparency and public engagement back to the Board. If the Board was doing their job there would not be all of this influence pouring in from all sides."

On Friday, Awake released its endorsements for school board races in the area.

Vlcek, Evans and Herndon have already received support from those behind an anonymous mailer. Meanwhile, the school's teachers union has endorsed Dillon, Daniels and Albores. Another group, Support Our School, backs the union's endorsed candidates and attacks the other three. The seventh candidate, Clark, appears not to be aligned with either group of candidates.

On its website, Awake says it is fighting the grooming of children. This is where an adult builds a relationship with a child to exploit and possibly sexually abuse the child.

The website includes links such as "Groomer playbook," "Gays against groomers" and "Pritzker profits from synthetic sexual identities."

Awake is known for opposing all-ages drag shows at the Downers Grove Public Library. The group's website says, "Be the barrier between your child and anyone or any agenda to indoctrinate/groom/data mine your children."

On Sunday, Awake announced that it gave the Rev. Latasha Fields the Advancing Freedom Award for her "commendable advocacy in Education and Parental Rights." The group said Fields advocated against a sex education bill last year.

According to the website, Fields said the bill "encourages and advocates for radical child sexual rights and aggressively promote(s) abortion as a contraception, wanting tampons in our boys bathroom, affirming homosexuality, pornography, transgender; queers, gender identity, sexual identity, and gender expression and teach our children that the nuclear family is a Western-prescribed structure."