4 Candidates File To Run For 4 Seats In Uncontested Board Race

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — The consolidated election on April 1, 2025 will feature several local races, including the school board race for North Palos Dist. 117. The last day to file petitions for the April election was Nov. 18.

According to an unofficial list of candidates released by the Cook County Clerk, four NPD 117 candidates are running unopposed in the upcoming election. Candidates for school board races include incumbents John Gawel, Deborah Groark and Rasha Atallah.

Newcomer Elizabeth Micheletti is running for a seat left open by the current NPD 117 board president Tom Kostas, who opted not to seek another term. Kostas, also the retired NPD 117 superintendent, has served on the board since 2006. Each is running for a full, four-year term.

Atallah was appointed in September to fill the vacant seat of Ron Moran, who resigned from the board in August.

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate for the upcoming consolidated election in Cook County is Jan. 30, 2025. A write-in candidate must file a notarized “Declaration of Intent to be a Write-in Candidate” (SBE Form P-1F) no later than 61 days prior to the election. The declaration must be filed with the proper election authorities or authorities in those jurisdictions in which the candidate in seeking to be a write-in candidate.

A list of candidates who filed paperwork to run in the April 2025 election can be found on the Cook County Clerk's website.