Challenger In, Incumbent Out On Niles Village Board

In an upset election Tuesday, newcomer Rosemary Palicki won a seat on the Niles Village Board, along with incumbents Joe LoVerde, Chris Hanusiak and James T. Hynes.

Palicki's 1,005 votes topped those of incumbent Al Weel, who finished the night with 988 votes when all precincts had reported, just after midnight.

"People are happy with parts of what they see happening in Niles government, but they still want more change. We look at this as a victory for independents. We want to make Niles government open," said Palicki, who also praised Weel for serving the village well and added she hopes he will stay involved. 

LoVerde racked up the highest number of votes with  1,325, and Hanusiak earned 1,263. This was Hanusiak's first time being elected to the board; he had been appointed to it by Mayor Robert Callero. 

Hynes' 920 votes bested the 840 votes received by Mary Marusek, a challenger and independent who ran in association with Palicki. Hynes and Marusek competed for a two-year seat on the board; the others are four-year seats. Hynes had been appointed to the village board by Callero in 2009.

Palicki and Weel had to endure three hours of suspense from 9 p.m., when 26 of 28 precincts had reported, until midnight, when results from the final two precincts finally came in and made Palicki the winner.

Many candidates for the Village of Niles board, Niles Park District board and Niles Elementary District 71 board gathered in the banquet room of the Niles Park District's Howard Leisure Center to watch the returns come in on a screen projection. However, most trickled out by 11 p.m.