Lincolnwood Mayor Jerry Turry announced his bid for reelection to a fourth term three months ago, and had no apparent challengers, until now.
A year into his first term as trustee, Barry Bass has announced his decision to leave his seat on the board next year to run as an independent candidate for mayor in the April 2017 election.
Concerns about an increase in burglaries and robberies reported in Lincolnwood during the past few months were listed as a top reason for his decision to run. The village should do more to help the police department fight crime, he said.
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“Now that we have these two beautiful bike paths open, there are even more opportunities for crime,” Bass said. “We need a mayor with a holistic vision to dig in and improve the services the Village provides to its residents.”
If elected to another term, Turry would become the second-longest serving mayor in Lincolnwood behind Henry Proesel, who was the first mayor of Lincolnwood and served 46 years in the position.
Turry was first elected mayor in 2005.
He ran in that election and subsequent elections with the backing of some of the same residents who again are supporting him in 2017, he said.
“I feel good, I’m healthy and I’m ready to run one more time because I’m committed to this town,” Turry said in September when he announced his reelection intent. He is part of a slate known as the Alliance Party.
Bass’s run for mayor creates a fourth opening on the six-member Lincolnwood Board of Trustees next year. Trustees Ron Cope and Craig Klatzco both confirmed they will seek reelection as part of Turry’s Alliance Party slate, and Trustee Larry Elster has not said whether he plans to seek reelection.
Attempts to reach Elster, who will mark his 20th year on the board next year, were unsuccessful.
When Elster ran in 2013 election, he was the sole candidate in the five-person Independent Party slate to secure a seat. But whether he would align with a party this year if he decides to run again is unknown.
The only new face to enter next year’s trustee race so far is Georjean Hlepas-Nickell.
After leaving the School District 74 board of education in 2015, Hlepas-Nickell has decided to run as an independent candidate on the village board. Hlepas-Nickell, who serves on the village’s traffic commission, also served on Lincolnwood’s Beautification Commission.
An active volunteer, Hlepas-Nickell was the recipient of the 2014 Madeleine Grant Volunteer of the Year award, an honor named for a former mayor who passed away while in office in 2000 and is remembered mostly for her dedication to volunteerism.
Monday was the filing deadline to seek to get on the spring ballot.
An official list of all candidates seeking office is expected to be available in late December or early January, according to Frank Herrera, a spokesman for the County Clerk’s office.
Natalie Hayes is a freelancer.