This Just In | D209 Board Takes Office, Kelly And Madigan Power Player File For Recount

Rachel Montgomery, a candidate for Maywood trustee who was 1 vote behind Ray Williams, has also filed for a recount

New D209 board members Sandra Lee Hixson, Jennifer Barbahen and David Ocampo take the oath of office, which was administered by former D209 board President Della Patterson. | Paul Goyette

The newest members of the Proviso Township High School District 209 school board — David Ocampo, Sandra Lee Hixson and Jennifer Barbahen — took their oaths of office during a regular meeting on May 4, which you can see here.

The new board also voted for a new board president, vice-president and secretary. Amanda Grant was voted board president, Ocampo was voted board vice-president and Barbahen was voted board secretary.

During a brief interview about a week before the swearing-in ceremony, the members of the Proviso 209 United slate said their immediate priorities include re-establishing board committees like financial oversight that the previous board majority did away with based on Supt. James Henderson’s recommendation.

They said they’d also like to assess the district’s human resources capacity, look into the administration’s cryptic credit card spending and make those expenses available to the public and hold Supt. Henderson accountability.

“Holding the superintendent accountable is crucial,” Barbahen said. “In the first 30 to 60 days, we’d like to see an evaluation presented and completed for the community. I think we need to do a deep review of his contract. What exactly is the parameter for success for him?

Theresa Kelly, the longest-serving school board member in the district’s history, missed another term in the seat she’s held for two decades by just 12 votes. After the April 4 election results were certified, Wenzel led Kelly 4,811 to 4,799.

The razor tight margin meant Kelly was within her rights to file a discovery recount and she’s done just that, even hiring a clout-heavy attorney to represent her — Michael Kasper, who ranked 82nd on Chicago Magazine’s Power 100 List in 2014, in part based on his connection to former (and perhaps soon-to-be-disgraced) Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is currently awaiting a corruption trial. Below is the magazine’s entry for Kasper:

“OCCUPATION: Lobbyist and attorney, Fletcher, O’Brien, Kasper & Nottage

“Kasper is quietly clout heavy. He is a close adviser to the mayor and one of the most powerful lobbyists in the state—his client roster is loaded with corporate titans, who are paying for Kasper’s inside access to Madigan (No. 2), his old boss.”

A Maywood trustee race heads for a recount

Meanwhile, Rachel Montgomery, who ran for one of three seats on the Maywood trustee board, has filed for a recount, a spokesman for her campaign said. Montgomery’s running-mates, People’s Choice Party candidates and incumbent Trustees Isiah Brandon and Miguel Jones, took two seats, with Maywood Forward Party candidate Rahmaan “Ray” Williams, taking the third seat. After votes were certified he led Montgomery by a single vote — 618 to 617. 

Campaigns have to foot the bill for recount, which could range from around $800 to $1,000. But a recount doesn’t automatically change the results of the race. Even after the recount is completed and it produces an outcome different from the certified results, the candidates would still have to submit a legal challenge that would be heard in court.

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