Waukegan Public School District 60 elections (2015)

From Ballotpedia
Revision as of 19:52, 2 October 2025 by Jaclyn Beran (contribs) (Text replacement - "on April 7, 2015." to "on April 7, 2015.")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search
2017


School Board badge.png
2015 Waukegan Public School District 60 Elections

General Election date:
April 7, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Illinois
Waukegan Public School District 60
Lake County, Illinois ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Illinois
Flag of Illinois.png

Three seats on the Waukegan Public School District 60 Board of Education were up for general election on April 7, 2015.

Incumbents Donald H. Elliott, Cheri-lynne Pierson-White and Tommy Rhyan ran for re-election. They faced seven challengers, Domingo "Sonny" Garza, Reyna Montes, Dave Pfeifer, Pauline Redd, Rick Riddle, Jesus Ruiz and Gerald Witter. Rhyan ran as a write-in candidate.[1][2] None of the incumbents were successful, with Garza, Pfeifer and Riddle victorious in that race.[3]

About the district

See also: Waukegan Public School District 60, Illinois
Waukegan Public School District 60 is located in Lake County, Ill.

Waukegan Public School District 60 is located in Lake County in northeastern Illinois. The county seat of Lake County is Waukegan. Lake County was home to 703,019 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] During the 2011-2012 school year, Waukegan Public School District 60 was the 10th-largest school district by enrollment in Illinois and served 16,597 students.[5]

Demographics

Lake County outperformed the rest of Illinois in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 41.9 percent of Lake County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 31.4 percent for Illinois as a whole. The median household income for Lake County was $77,469, while it was $56,797 for the entire state. The poverty rate in Lake County was 9.0 percent compared to 14.1 percent statewide.[4]

Racial Demographics, 2013[4]
Race Lake County (%) Illinois (%)
White 82.7 77.7
Black or African American 7.4 14.7
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9 0.6
Asian 7.0 5.1
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or more races 2.0 1.8
Hispanic or Latino 20.7 16.5

Presidential Voting Pattern, Lake County[6]
Year Democratic Vote Green Party Vote Libertarian Vote Republican Vote Other Vote
2012 153,757 1,133 2,816 129,764 -
2008 177,242 408 1,102 118,545 1,807

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Voter and candidate information

The Waukegan Public School District 60 Board of Education consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms on a staggered basis every odd-numbered year.[7] A general election for three seats was held on April 7, 2015.[1] In April 2013, four full-term seats were up for election. A fifth two-year term seat was also up for election in 2013 to fill an unexpired term.[8]

To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file a notarized statement of candidacy and notarized nominating petitions with the Lake County Clerk's Office during the filing period. The filing period began December 15, 2014, and ended December 22, 2014. The nominating petitions had to include the signatures of 50 voters residing in the school district and could not be circulated until September 23, 2014.[9]

To vote in this election, voters had to register with the Lake County Clerk's Office by March 10, 2015. Early voting was available for registered voters starting March 23, 2015, and ending April 4, 2015.[9]

Elections

2015

Candidates

At-large

  • Pauline Redd
  • Rick Riddle Green check mark transparent.png
    • Graduate, Illinois State University and Ball State University
    • Educator
    • Veteran, U.S. Air Force
  • Jesus Ruiz
    • Graduate, Loyola University and Northeastern Illinois University
    • Community relations and special projects officer, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
  • Gerald Witter
    • Graduate, Michigan Technological University and the Illinois Institute of Technology
    • President, Electrical Contacts Plus

Election results

Waukegan Public School District 60, At-Large General Election,
4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngRick Riddle 18.1% 1,856
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngDave Pfeifer 15.8% 1,622
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngDomingo "Sonny" Garza 12.8% 1,317
     Nonpartisan Reyna Montes 11.8% 1,209
     Nonpartisan Jesus Ruiz 9.5% 972
     Nonpartisan Cheri-lynne Pierson-White Incumbent 8.8% 901
     Nonpartisan Donald H. Elliott Incumbent 7.6% 780
     Nonpartisan Gerald Witter 7.4% 758
     Nonpartisan Pauline Redd 6.3% 645
     Nonpartisan Tommy Rhyan (write-in) Incumbent 1.9% 199
Total Votes 10,259
Source: Lake County Clerk, "Consolidated Election - April 7, 2015: Official Results," accessed April 28, 2015, Lake County Clerk, "Unofficial Write-In Results by Candidate ID," accessed April 28, 2015

Endorsements

Challenger Dave Pfeifer was endorsed by the Libertarian Party and by Walsh Freedom.[10][11]

Challenger Rick Riddle received endorsements from:[12]

  • Aaron Lawlor, Lake County Board Chairman
  • Mary Cunningham, County Board Commissioner
  • Sam Cunningham, 1st Ward Alderman

Campaign finance

School board candidates in Illinois are only required to file campaign finance reports if they accept contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 in a 12-month period.[13]

Candidates received a total of $8,000.00 and spent a total of $0.00 in the election, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.[14]

Candidate Existing balance Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Donald H. Elliott $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Cheri-lynne Pierson-White $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Tommy Rhyan $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Domingo "Sonny" Garza $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Reyna Montes $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Dave Pfeifer $0.00 $4,000.00 $0.00 $4,000.00
Pauline Redd $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Rick Riddle $0.00 $4,000.00 $0.00 $4,000.00
Jesus Ruiz $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Gerald Witter $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Past elections

What was at stake?

2015

Issues in the district

Contract deal ends weeks-long teachers strike

Students in the Waukegan Public School District 60 missed 21 days of school in October 2014 due to a teachers strike. The Waukegan Teachers' Council and the Waukegan Board of Education could not come to an agreement on a three-year contract until the chairman of the State Board of Education and a state education official sent by former Gov. Pat Quinn (D) joined the negotiations.[15]

The contract gave the district additional instruction time during the school day and the teachers a "reasonable" salary package. It was approved by 86 percent of union members who voted.[15]

"After years of instability, we are hopeful that this agreement will be the first step in giving our students the schools they deserve," said Union President Kathy Schwarz.[15]

Once an agreement was reached, Superintendent Donaldo R. Batiste urged members of the district and the community to move past the disagreement.[16]

"Despite our disagreements, we have always shared a common, fundamental goal: to provide our children with the education they deserve to prepare them for what lies ahead," said Batiste.[16]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Waukegan Public School District 60 election in 2015:[9]

Deadline Event
September 23, 2014 First day to circulate petitions
December 15, 2014 First day to file nominating papers
December 22, 2014 Last day to file nominating papers
December 30, 2014 Last day to file objections to nominating petitions
January 15, 2015 First campaign finance report due
January 29, 2015 Last day to withdraw as a candidate
February 5, 2015 Last day to file as a write-in candidate
March 10, 2015 Last day to register to vote
March 23, 2015 First day early that voting is available
April 4, 2015 Last day early that voting is available
April 6, 2015 Pre-election campaign finance report due
April 7, 2015 General Election Day
July 15, 2015 Last campaign finance report due

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Illinois elections, 2015

The Waukegan Public School District 60 Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for village trustees, city offices, library trustees, park district commissioners, other school boards and college trustees.[1]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Waukegan Public School District 60 Illinois. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Waukegan Public School District 60 Illinois School Boards
School Board badge.png
Seal of Illinois.png
School Board badge.png


External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lake County Clerk, "Candidate List," accessed January 21, 2015
  2. Waukegan Public School District 60, "Board Members," accessed January 21, 2015
  3. Lake County Clerk, "Consolidated Election - April 7, 2015: Unofficial Results," accessed April 7, 2015
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Lake County, Illinois," accessed March 19, 2015
  5. National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
  6. Lake County Clerk, "Election Results Archive," accessed March 19, 2015
  7. Waukegan Public School District 60, "School Board," accessed March 19, 2015
  8. Lake County Clerk, "Consolidated Election: April 9, 2013," accessed March 19, 2015
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar, 2015," accessed January 19, 2015
  10. Libertarian Party of Illinois, "Meet Our 2015 Municipal Candidates," accessed April 1, 2015
  11. Walsh Freedom, "Walsh Freedom Endorsed Candidates for Upcoming Elections," March 30, 2015
  12. Rick Riddle for School Board District 60, "Endorsements," accessed April 1, 2015
  13. Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Disclosure," accessed March 31, 2015
  14. Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 6, 2015
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chicago Tribune, "Waukegan district, teachers come to terms after monthlong strike," October 30, 2015
  16. 16.0 16.1 Waukegan Public School District 60, "An Open Letter to Parents, Guardians and Waukegan Community Unit School District #60 Community Members," October 31, 2015