Park Forest tradition of independent candidates blurred in April election

Non-Partisan Committee gives reaffirmation of rules

Two venerable pieces of the Park Forest puzzle — the Non-Partisan Committee and the historical society — captured our attention this past week; the former for trying to preserve the integrity of elections and the latter for adding six more into its Hall of Fame.

For more than 60 years the Non-Partisan Committee offered all local candidates opportunities to present their views to the public at no cost except a pledge to run as an independent. Slating — office seekers teaming up with each other — is a line in the sand.

But in this past election, that boundary was blurred as one village trustee acknowledged passing petitions for two office seekers and other candidates began “liking” each other on social media. There were rumors of secret “handshakes” and a pop-up group was passing out flyers publicizing its choices. These breaches left the Non-Partisan Committee wringing its hands and eventually led to a strong affirmation of its rules.

Although the committee acknowledges it has no legal authority to enforce its rules, it will now publicize all proven offenses and keep violators out of its public forums. Numerous communities hold nonpartisan elections but none have a public oversight group seeking pledges of independence from office seekers and in turn offering a free, open forum for the discussion of issues.

It is a great cost-cutting measure. According to the committee, the 2019 mayoral race in Chicago Heights saw 4,046 ballots cast and $135,484 spent by candidates. That’s a cost of nearly $33.49 for each vote. That same year and in a three-person mayoral race in Country Club Hills, 3,108 votes were cast, $74,595 was spent by candidates at $24 per vote. Meanwhile, in a three-person race for

mayor of Park Forest, candidates spent a meager $7,123 in an effort to influence the 2,965 voters with a more manageable $2.40 cost.

In the end, the future of this kind of any nonpartisan election pledge depends on the good will of the candidates.

As an election footnote, votes are still being counted in both Cook and Will counties, so we cannot report on final totals on the race for seats on the Park Forest Village Board. As of Monday morning newcomer Erin Slone led former Trustee JeRome Brown by 10 votes for the third spot on the board. While Cook County updates its results daily, Will County will not tabulate its last 25 ballots until Wednesday.

Hall of Fame

There are now 193 members of the Park Forest Hall of Fame as the class of 2021 was inducted Sunday afternoon in an online ceremony.

In a coincidence of sorts, three of the six entrants — former resident H. Thurber Stowell, former police Chief Milan Plavsic and former village manager John Scott — all played vital roles in the peaceful integration of the village in 1959.

Stowell, then chairman of Park Forest’s Human Relations Commission, wrote a groundbreaking report showing that peaceful integration was vital to community acceptance. Scott, the second village manager, worked with then-Mayor Robert Dinerstein in composing a now famous letter on how village employees should respond to Black residents. That letter is now on display in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington.

Plavsic was the village chief of police at the time and, along with village officials, helped insure a peaceful move-in in December 1959.

Other new members are Ann Hernandez, Dr. Jerome Kharasch, and longtime resident Yuan Liang. Hernandez was a District 163 school board member instrumental in developing salary and instruction programs as well art education programs for the district and later was the longtime director of the Center for Community Action in Harvey.

For 16 years, Kharasch served the residents of the village both in the aspects of health and civic affairs and was a vital force in the political life of the community.

Liang was the longest standing cardholder in the history of the Park Forest Public Library and was a revered presenter at the library’s Potpourri series, as he shared his expertise on various topics including his travels and the work of artist Norman Rockwell.

You can watch the induction ceremony on You Tube. It is led by Jane Nicoll, the historical society’s president, archivist and life force.

Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.

jerryshnay@gmail.com