Are you ready to take the plunge?
By Bob Seidenberg
rseiden914@gmail.com
Candidates interested in running in Evanston’s once-every-four-years municipal election next year can get an earlier start down that road this year with today, Tuesday, July 30, marking the first day they can begin circulating petitions to gather the number of signatures they’ll need to run for office.
The petition circulation and filing periods of municipal elections for 2025 elections were moved in accord with the provisions of Public Act 103-0586 (effective May 3, 2024) and Public Act 103-0600(effective July 1, 2024), which shift the candidate filing periods and related dates for most offices up by 28 days.
City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza, who serves the city’s election official, informed current council members of the change at their July 22 meeting.
Her office has established a website landing page, which pertinent information for those thinking about taking the plunge for elected office:
https://www.cityofevanston.org/residents/elections/2025-municipal-elections
Petitions forms, meanwhile, can be found here:
In addition, the Clerk has made available the 2025 Candidates Guide, hot off the presses from the Illinois Board of Elections, to be found on the landing page.
The Clerk’s office 2025 Consolidated Elections landing page also includes a Google form, where you can sign up to receive updates from the clerk’s office regarding the 2025 consolidated election.
That can be found here:
In case you don’t make it through all that material, here are some important dates:
- Today, July 30, 2024: The first day to circulate petitions for candidates seeking to run in the 2025 Consolidated Primary Election.
- Oct. 21, 2024: The first day to file the petitions for the Feb. 25Consolidated Primary Election with the local election official, Mendoza’s office in this case, or the Board of Election Commissioners.
- Oct. 28, 2024: The last day to file petition forms for the 2025 Consolidated Primary Election.
- Nov. 4, 2024. The last day to file objections to nomination papers for the Consolidated Primary Election.
Here’s some additional information:
- All nine city council seats are up for election next year as our the mayor and city clerk posts.
(Prior to 1991, when the city had two council members per ward, council members served staggered terms with elections every two years.)
By the way, under the council-mayor form of government adopted by the city in 1951, Council elections are non-partisan.
- A primary election for Mayor is held if more than two candidates run and for City Clerk and Council members if there are more than four candidates, including write-in candidates.
The primary then reduces the field in each race to two candidates who will then face off in the April 1, Consolidated General Election. If one of the candidates in the Mayor’s race, however, receives more than 50% of the vote (as current Mayor Daniel Biss did in 2021), that person is then declared the winner.
- Council members run in the wards they reside, with only votes in those wards counting toward their election. wards The City Clerk and Mayor are citywide positions with votes citywide determining who will hold those positions.
According to the League of Women Voters of Evanston excellent This is Evanston guidebook (an absolute must if you are thinking of running for local office; it can be purchased at https://www.lwve.org/), the council “adopts legislation, sets policy, gives advice and consent to mayoral appointments, hires and has the authority to fire the city manager, and approves the city budget.”
In the last election, in April 2021, every seat but one was contested, the guide noted, and several incumbents lost to challengers.
The Consolidated Primary Election is set to be held Feb. 25, 2025.
