Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Joe Werner, the former mayor of Mokena, bid farewell at the Monday Village Board meeting, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The Monday Village Boad meeting was anything but typical. It marked the end of former Mayor Joe Werner's career as top municipal leader. With the re-election of all incumbent trustees—John Mazzarana, Joseph Siwinski and George Metanias along with Clerk Patricia Patt—elected officials formally took their seats. While the newly-elected Mayor Frank Fleischer took an oath to uphold the standards of his leadership role, the evening was really all about former Mayor Joe Werner. Werner dropped out of the race in January. It would have been his third term. Despite a hotly contested and bitter race that sparked the ire of candidates on both sides, Werner left office on a positive note. He expressed his appreciation for the board members and staff…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Retired Will County Sheriff's Office deputy announced his candidacy for Will County Sheriff in the March 2014 primary. Deputy Chief Paul Kaupas, of New Lenox Township, is planning a formal announcement to run later this month.
A 30-plus year veteran of the Will County Sheriff's Department, Nick Ficarello told the Will County Republican Central Committee that he believes he is the right man to lead the county's law enforcement team. The former watch commander in the patrol division, deputy chief at the Adult Detention Center and deputy chief of special operations and criminal investigations, Ficarello has a history of leadership, he said in a press release issued after his April 18 announcement. Ficarello, who retired in 2009, is running against his old boss, Will County Deputy Chief Ken Kaupas. Kaupas, the current sheriff's second cousin, told the Joliet Herald News that he, too, was at last week's committee meeting and is interested in running as a Republican…
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The top headlines in Mokena Patch this past week concerned the election and a drug bust that had all the elements of a would-be movie.
Mokena residents this past week were attracted to the election results and a drug bust. 2013 Mokena Election Results: See Who Will Represent You The results are in. Find out who will sit on the Mokena Board of Trustees, Mokena District 159 and Summit Hill District 161 boards of education, and Frankfort Township departments. 2 Men Busted on Drug Charges Outside Mokena Motel Police said they found cocaine, marijuana and a 12 gauge shotgun when they investigated two men sitting in a parked car near the Super 8 motel. Readers might like: Get news alerts and Facebook updates from these Patch sites:
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Find out who will sit on the Mokena Board of Trustees, Mokena District 159 and Summit Hill District 161 boards of education, and Frankfort Township departments. The vote totals become official on April 30
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Saturday, April 13
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Four out of six seats on the Summit Hill School D161 Board of Education are newcomers.
With four out of seven seats filled now by newcomers to Summit Hill School Dist. 161, a fresh crop of board members will take their seats next to board members Stacey Borgens, George Perros and Sean Doyle. The newly elected members are: The biggest vote-getter was Pamela Kohlbacher, a retired principal from D161. She received 2,140 votes. David Faber was second in line with 1,794 votes, and Richard Marron got 1,716 votes. Richard Ward came in with 1,523. Candidate Mark Zilinskas lost his bid with 1,271 votes. A contentious year led up to the 2013 Election for Summit Hill School Dist. 161. After the closing of Mary Drew Elementary School, which had parents and residents of Summit Hill School District 161 up in arms, came a controversy over …
It was clear early in the evening that it was a Republican sweep for Frankfort Township officials.
Those who cast a ballot Tuesday gave incumbents for Frankfort Township a clear vote of confidence. Every office and the trustees were re-elected for another four-year term. The after-the-polls-close party at Jameson's Pub, 9545 W. St. Francis Road, where Republican incumbents gathered to watch the returns, got enthusiastic early. As each of the precincts came in, it was a clear victory for those who have been running the township for the past four years. The winners are: Kral, assessor, was the top vote-getter for Frankfort Township. He raked in a total of 5,546 compared to challenger George Perros, with 2,395. Carlson re-gained his position as highway commissioner with 5,022 votes compared to challenger Mike Benoit, who received 2,742 …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The results are in. Find out who will sit on the Mokena Board of Trustees, Mokena District 159 and Summit Hill District 161 boards of education, and Frankfort Township departments.
The elections are over. Now it's time to see who won and find out what they're planning. Here is the the list of links to stories covering some of the races that affect New Lenox. See below for the unofficial polling numbers from the Will County Clerk's website. Numbers include votes cast today, as well as absentee and early ballots. Results will not be made official until April 30. Readers might like: It's easy to keep up with Patch!
Stacy Cesta, Danielle Didrickson, Anna Briscoe and Jim Andresen were all elected to the Mokena School District 159 Board of Education on Tuesday, April 9.
Four new members will take seats on the Mokena School District 159 Board of Education in the coming months, after voters elected Stacy Cesta, Danielle Didrickson, Anna Briscoe and Jim Andresen to seats on the board. “It's exciting to hear the numbers,” Didrickson said. “It's very excited to see the numbers that we're seeing and hope that officially those numbers are truly the numbers that come in at the end of the day” The quartet ran as a ticket, watching the results trickle in during election night together. “It's great, it's exciting, my wife encouraged me to get out there and do something to support the community,” Andresen said. “It's all kind of just sinking in, and between the absentee and early ballots, it's just so exciting. As …
Newly elected Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer addresses economic development, thanks the community for its support and talks about what's next for Mokena.
Mokena's newly elected mayor, Frank Fleischer, is ready to work with newly elected trustees, village administration and others to bring the village economic development. Although he was elected in an unopposed race, Fleischer said that the voter turnout indicated that the village was ready for change. “People voted for me for a reason,” he said. “Even though I was unopposed, people voted for me. … That tells me people are looking forward to what I said during the campaign. They want economic development in the village of Mokena and I will start doing that as soon as I take office.” With economic development at the forefront of his mind, Fleischer said he plans to find a way to bring an economic development director position to the village…
A tight race kept candidates on the edge throughout the night. As the final votes came in, the incumbents swept the Village Board race.
An earlier version of the story showed Mary Beth Windberg won a seat on the Mokena Village Board. The totals were incomplete at the time of the reporting. Patch regrets the error. Update: As vote tallies at the Will County Clerk's Office were totaled after all precincts were in, turns out it was an incumbent sweep for trustees on the Mokena Village Board. George Metanias raked in 1,459 votes, while Mary beth Windberg garnered 1,430. Original story: A contentious race between two factions—incumbents and those aligned with incoming Mayor Frank Fleischer—was not decided until late into the evening. In the end, the winners were incumbents Joseph M. Siwinski and John J. Mazzorana, and newcomer Mary Beth Windberg. “I know what what direction …
Flap Jack
10:54 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Last Monday I witnessed a very troubling scene watching the Mokena village board on TV. Our mayor for the last 8 years look like he suffered a nervous or mentally related breakdown. He went on and on about his life story. He pointed out his childhood of anger and fear caused by others bullying him because he was born with a hair lip. He took us through his adolescence and high school culture. He … more ›