Meet James Johnson: Candidate For Skokie Village Clerk

SKOKIE, IL — James Johnson is currently a Village Trustee and a high school teacher at Regina Dominican High School and is running for Village Clerk in Skokie.

Johnson has lived in Skokie for nearly 10 years and has served as Village Trustee since 2021. In their time in the position, Johnson has worked to be the lead advocate for electoral reform, sustainability, affordable housing and government transparency, according to their campaign website. They are running against Naema Abraham and Minal Desai for Skokie Village Clerk.

Learn more about Johnson and their goals for Skokie:

Age (as of Election day)

36

Campaign website

https://jamesforskokie.com/

Education

B.A. in Religion from Davidson College, M.A. in Theological Studies with a Minor in Education from Loyola University Chicago

The most pressing issues facing our (board, district, etc.) are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

In terms of Clerk responsibilities (as opposed to Mayor and Trustee responsibilities), I think the most pressing issues facing our Village government concern transparency and accessibility. In just the past 3 years, the Village has been investigated 5 times by the IL Attorney General’s Office for Open Meetings Act (OMA) violations, yet I have been the only member of the Village Board to advocate for reform. As Clerk, I will oversee a comprehensive review of the Village’s compliance with OMA and ensure that public policymaking is always conducted publicly.

Similarly, the Village can do far more to encourage public participation in local policymaking. As Clerk, I will improve meeting minutes and recordkeeping, reform public comment policies, and create a “legislation tracker” to keep residents up-to-date on important Village initiatives.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My support for electoral reform sets me apart from the other candidates for this position. I co-founded the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform and launched the 3 voter-initiated referendums – for nonpartisan elections, staggered terms, and hybrid representation – that updated Skokie’s electoral system in 2022. I led the largest petition campaign in Skokie history, and despite immense opposition from Mayor Van Dusen, Clerk Shah, and my fellow Trustees, I helped transform one of the worst local electoral systems in Illinois into one of the best. More than anything, I believe this qualifies me to serve as Skokie’s next election official in the Clerk’s Office.

For the past 60 years, elected Village Clerks have been representatives of the Skokie Caucus Party, and often been tied to our Niles Township Democratic Party. As the first Independent ever elected to Village office in Skokie, I will continue to serve as an intentionally nonpartisan representative, always prioritizing the needs of residents over the wishes of political parties.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

Our current Clerk is a recent appointee by Mayor Van Dusen, picked to finish the 4-year term of retired Clerk Shah, and it would be very unfair to say she has “failed the community,” though there is certainly room for improvement in the Clerk’s Office. I was shocked that our former Clerk labelled electoral reform advocates as “extremists” for supporting the 2022 referendums that updated our Village elections, and I am disappointed that our current Clerk opposes the RCV referendum on Skokie’s April ballot, since I believe local election officials should be at the forefront of electoral reform. That said, I greatly appreciate that our current Clerk seems to be more supportive of Board compliance with OMA, since our former Clerk was complicit in numerous OMA violations involving meeting minutes and records. And on a personal level, I find our current Clerk to be an incredibly kind and compassionate public servant.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

There’s a lot that I’d like to accomplish in the Clerk’s Office! I’d like to expand voter registration efforts, host nonpartisan candidate training sessions to boost local candidate participation, digitize the Village Board’s archives going back to the 1880s, participate in local celebrations and educational events highlighting Skokie history and culture, expand free notary services, fully implement the new Village seal, integrate a “land acknowledgement” into Village Board meetings, collaborate with incredible community partners like the Skokie Public Library, Skokie Heritage Museum, Skokie Historical Society, and League of Women Voters, and so much more. In short, my goal is to transform the Clerk’s Office into a dynamic, nonpartisan center for civic education in Skokie.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am the only Clerk candidate who has been elected to Village office before. In the past 4 years as a Trustee, I have been the Village Board’s lead policymaker and legislator for sustainability, affordable
housing, government transparency, and many great causes. I have witnessed the ins-and-outs of our Village government for a full term, and have a great sense of how the Clerk’s Office can be reformed to ensure our Village government is more welcoming, transparent, and accessible to Skokie residents.

Why should voters trust you?

Voters can trust me because I have a proven track record of following through on my campaign promises. During my term as an elected Village Trustee, I did exactly what I said I would do: I supported electoral reform and helped overhaul the Village’s electoral system, I supported climate action and championed Skokie’s new Sustainability Plan and the hire of a Sustainability Coordinator to oversee progress, I voted against all-luxury residential developments and got the Board to adopt
an inclusionary zoning policy to support affordable housing, and more. In addition, I am the only member of the Village Board who has never accepted campaign donations from political parties, Village employees, and local businesses and developers; I actively avoid conflicts of interest.

Whereas my Trustee colleagues from the Skokie Caucus Party have voted as a block in almost 99% of their votes this term, I have tried to model the value of an Independent representative inside Village Hall. I was the only member of the Board to oppose the Carvana “car vending machine” near Harms Woods, the additional sales tax at “blighted” Old Orchard Mall, the failing Hilton Hotel construction in downtown Skokie, the attempt to block voter initiatives from the ballot in 2022, and the ongoing political hiring in Skokie’s Legal Department, among other poor decisions made by the Board in the past term. As a public servant, I have always strived to be a thoughtful, responsive, and forward-thinking representative.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?

So many of my goals can be accomplished within a single term. I’m going to improve meeting minutes and recordkeeping, reform public comment policies, create a “legislation tracker” for the Village website, fully digitize the Village Board’s archives, fully implement the new Village seal across all departments, complete a comprehensive review of the Village’s compliance with OMA, collaborate with County and State officials to fully implement the RCV referendum that will (hopefully) be adopted by residents in April, and more than anything, overhaul the Election Division of the Clerk’s Office to boost voter registration, education, and engagement.

In addition, the upcoming term will feature a special opportunity for community engagement: the 50th anniversary of the Skokie Affair of 1977. As Clerk, I hope to collaborate with community partners like the IL Holocaust Museum, Skokie Public Library, Skokie Heritage Museum, and Skokie Historical Society to ensure the Clerk’s Office is an active participant in local events that recognize this integral part of Skokie history. The 50th anniversary of the Skokie Affair provides an incredible opportunity for community education about the dangers of antisemitism and xenophobia and the importance of freedom of speech and assembly.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

I greatly appreciate the Village’s long history of fiscal responsibility, and I will ensure that the Clerk’s Office budget stays flat. Recently, I was the only Trustee to vote against a raise in the Clerk’s salary for the coming term, and if elected, I will return those funds to the taxpayers, since the Clerk is meant to be an elected public servant, not a career administrator. The Clerk is already the Village’s highest-paid elected official, so I will never accept additional compensation at public expense.

What are your thoughts on the crime rate in your community, and what more can be done to combat crime — especially violent crime — in town?

Skokie has an exceptional Police Department, and the local crime rate has stayed relatively flat for over a decade. As Clerk, I will no longer have a role in public safety policymaking, but I am proud of what the Village Board has accomplished this term. In the past 4 years, the Board has unanimously supported the creation of a Co-Responder Program to pair Village social workers with Police Officers for mental/behavioral health crisis calls, the full implementation of body-worn cameras in the Police Department, and the borrowing of $160 million in pension obligation bonds to better fund public safety pensions, among other measures. Public safety should always remain a policy priority for the
Village Board.

When it comes to development, what are some key areas for improvement or additions you feel are most wanted by residents? What will need to be done to make this happen?

When it comes to economic development, I hear time and time again that Skokie residents want the Village Board to prioritize the needs of small and independent businesses. While the Village has prioritized the needs of Old Orchard Shopping Center on the north side of Skokie and Village Crossing Shopping Center on the south side of Skokie, the commercial corridors in between have been underserved. When it comes to residential development, I hear time and time again that Skokie residents want the Village Board to prioritize new housing that actually accommodates the diverse housing needs of current residents, which include low/moderate-income households and families with children.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

“Vision without work is only dreams, and work without a vision is pure drudgery.”

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I love Skokie. I feel a profound sense of gratitude for this incredible, beautiful, multicultural, interfaith community. I have been deeply honored to serve as the Village’s first Independent representative, and I am so proud of my accomplishments in the past term. Now that residents
have a brand-new electoral system and more meaningful choices on the ballot than ever before, I encourage voters to rally behind the phenomenal progressives running for Village office in 2025, to build on what makes Skokie great, but also ensure our Village government is more responsive and forward-thinking. Let’s unite behind a holistic vision for a welcoming community in Skokie.