Welch Wins 209 Election Lottery!!!

The ballot is set in the Proviso High School District 209 race. A ballot lottery was recently conducted, and Board President Emanuel "Chris" Welch won the big prize...Top ballot position. The ballot will look this way:

1. Emanuel "Chris" Welch
2. Reatha "Sue" Henry
3. Daniel J. Adams
4. Brian M. Cross
5. Maria Desena
6. Kevin McDermott
7. Rebecca M. Smith
8. Carlos Anderson
9. Arbdella "Della" Patterson

School District 88 Ballot Set...

The Bellwood School District 88 election ballot is set. A lottery was recently conducted, and the order is as follows:

1. Drena Lanier
2. Maria Castrejon
3. Dorothy Smith
4. Marilyn Thurman
5. Avery Malik Thurman
6. Ronald C. Anderson
7. Patricia Crawford
8. Beverly Graham
9. Lekeya Shearill
10. Althea Busby

Mayoral Races Across Township

Maywood
1. Henderson Yarbrough
2. Demetrius Davis
3. Ralph Connor
4. Grady Rivers, Jr.

Melrose Park
1. Ronald Serpico
2. Jesse Martinez

Bellwood:
1. Frank A. Pasquale
2. Jeannette Johnson

Early predictions...Grady Rivers, Jr., Ronald Serpico and Frank Pasquale will win big!!!

Township Race is Mayors versus Yarbrough, Manzo and Peraica...

For Proviso Township, it appears as if there is a race between allies for the Township Mayors and allies for State Rep. Karen Yarbrough. Here's how the township race looks:

Slate backed by Mayors:
Supervisor Michael Corrigan
Clerk Readith Esther
Assessor Steven J. Zawaski
Collector Eric R. Sawchuk
Trustee Mari Herrell
Trustee Anthony "Tony" Williams
Trustee Tim Gillian
Trustee Don Sloan

Slate backed by Karen Yarbrough, Mike Manzo and Tony Peraica:Supervisor Theresa Kelly
Clerk William Daugherty
Assessor C. Michael Montino
Collector Ivan Williams
Trustee Lennel Grace
Trustee Patrick Doolin
Trustee Colin Brady
Trustee Michael Sheahan

Early prediction: Slate backed by Mayors will win big. Yarbrough will have egg on her face!

(Updated) Elections Filings End for Local Offices...

Election Filings ended on Monday, January 26, 2009 for local offices across the state including in Proviso Township. Here is a list of some of the filings:

Proviso High School District 209 (4 seats open)
1. Emanuel "Chris" Welch
2. Daniel J. Adams
3. Reatha "Sue" Henry
4. Brian M. Cross
5. Maria Desena
6. Kevin McDermott
7. Rebecca Smith
8. Carlos Anderson
9. Arbdella "Della" Patterson

Maywood, Melrose Park, Broadview School District 89 (3 seats open)
1. Regina Rivers
2. Jaime Anguiano
3. Veronica Bonilla-Lopez
4. Loretta Gustello
5. Gwendolyn Streeter-Walker
6. Angela Lockett
7. Eliazer Chavez
8. Corey Cooper
9. Antonio Favela

Bellwood School District 88 (4 seats open)
1. Dorothy Smith
2. Drena Lanier
3. Maria Castrejon
4. Marilyn Thurman
5. Avery Malik Thurman
6. Ronald C. Anderson
7. Patricia Crawford
8. Beverly Graham
9. Lekeya Shearill
10. Althea Busby

Early predictions: In Proviso 209, the incumbents will win big as they are backed by Township mayors and other elected officials. The slate led by Della Patterson is backed by Rep. Yarbrough, Mike Manzo and Tony Peraica. In SD 89, the Maywoodians will probably split the vote amongst each other and the Melrose Park candidates will all win. In SD88, the slate backed by Maywoodian Charles "Chuck" Baxter and former Bellwood Mayoral candiate David Ireland will lose big. Anderson and his group just needs to stay focused on education.

Proviso School District 209 Begins Busing Program For All Students!!!

Proviso School Board President Emanuel "Chris" Welch and the Proviso School Board announced that Proviso Township High Schools has launched its transportation program!

The program begins at Proviso East on Jan. 20th and at Proviso West on Feb. 17th.

Proviso East parents are encouraged to check the mail for bus route information and to contact the school if bus route information is not received by January 15th.

Students are asked to arrive at their designated bus stop locations five (5) minutes before the scheduled pick-up time in the morning. At the end of the school day (after dismissal) the buses will leave Proviso East at approximately 3:25 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Proviso East Principal Mr. Milton Patch at 708-202-1611. Proviso West parents can look for their students' bus route information to be mailed no later than Friday, January 23rd.

La Secundaria Proviso East tiene gusto en informarle que el servicio de transportación empezara el 20 de Enero. Usted recibira por correo información acerca de las rutas del bus escolar, le pedimos que este pendiente. Si usted no recibe esta información antes del 15 de Enero, por favor comuniquese con nosotros.

Breaking News....Consultant Anthony B. Bruno Charged by United States!!!!

Consultant Anthony B. Bruno, of Illinois Development Services Corporation, Inc., has been charged in a criminal complaint by the United States government. Anthony B. Bruno was filed in criminal complaint number 09 CR 0018 on January 8, 2009. Records from Clerk Michael W. Dobbins of the U.S. District Court show the case was assigned to Judge Ber-Yeghiayan and Magistrate Judge Ashman. The complaint alleges a violation of Title 26 of the United States Code Section 7206(1) which means the government is alleging that Mr. Bruno either committed fraud or made false statements in a tax document.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagoyevich Impeached By House of Representatives...

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 114 to 1 on Friday, January 9, 2009 to impeach Governor Rod Blagoyevich. The Governor will now face a trial in the senate, and if convicted, he will be thrown out of office.

Economy Costs Proviso Township Local Newspaper...

The tough economy has cost the Proviso Township community is best source for comprehensive local news, The Proviso Herald, a pioneer press newspaper. The Herald has been a Wednesday staple for years in the Proviso community, and will print its last edition on Wednesday, January 15, 2009. Pioneer Press Newspapers are owned by the Chicago Sun-Times News Group.

Application Deadline Nears For Proviso Math and Science Academy Admissions...

Proviso Math and Science Academy will hold its final admissions assessment at 9 a.m. Saturday for students interested in attending the school for the 2009-2010 school year.

Students applying to the academy must participate in an assessment event administered at PMSA as part of the admissions process . It involves a non-verbal ability test and the writing of an essay.

This event, held at PMSA, 8601 W. Roosevelt Road, Forest Park, begins promptly at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to end by 11:30 a.m. Students may be admitted for testing at 8:30 a.m.

Approximately 350 students have already completed the admissions assessment for the 2009-2010 school year, according to TaQuoya Kennedy, spokesman for Proviso High School District 209.

Students interested in attending PMSA should contact the school's main office, (708) 338-4100, to schedule an assessment appointment.

All completed PMSA applications with signatures and supporting materials must be submitted or postmarked by Jan. 15.

Reverend Demetrius Davis Announces Run For Mayor Of Maywood...

Reverend Demetrius Davis of the Proviso Community Church announced in a post on this site that he is running for Mayor of Maywood. Here is the post:

This is horrible! Another example of poor leadership. Even when we finally get a grocery store, it'll take us 5 or more years to recoup the half million we just lost. The very reason I'm running for Mayor of Maywood is to root out this sort of incompetence, neglegence, and reckless spending. This 490K is perhaps more than the village spent all year on recreation. With this type of money we could've hired 10 more men and women to work within the village. We could've hired more police officers to patrol the streets. We could've even given dozens of summer internships to our college students returning home for summer.

My campaign led a protest and press conference on the old site of the grocery store several weeks ago. It's time for us all to stand up to demand a better community.

Pastor Demetrius L. Davis
"Maywood's Next Mayor"