Who Won Niles Election? Votes Will Get Recount

Alan Weel, who lost the April 5 election for Niles Village Trustee to Rosemary Palicki by 18 votes, is challenging the results. At his request, the Cook County clerk's office will recount the votes Thursday morning.

"The vote was too slim of a margin. It's less than one vote per precinct," Weel said, adding there are 28 precincts in Niles.

"You never know if there was an error the state made. I talked to my fellow slate members and we thought we'd let the process play out."

Weel will head to the county clerk's office Thursday to watch employees conduct a discovery recount, in which they pull the scrolling paper rolls on which voters recorded their choices on a touch screen. They'll run them through a scanner and examine the votes.

Weel had the right to choose 25 percent of Niles precincts--a total of seven--to have the county clerk's office recount. 

"I took the ones with the largest voter turnout, where I had a sizable difference in votes," he said.

Courtney Greve, a spokesperson for the clerk's office, said the recount will not change the election results, only provide information. 

"It's like in a court of law in a discovery phase when both sides are exchanging information," she said.

To change the results, Weel would have to file a lawsuit in circuit court.

Some towns had even closer margins in their vote counts, and two had ties.

County Clerk David Orr will hold a coin toss Monday to determine the winners of those two, a Berwyn school district and a Broadview trustee race.