W E D N E S D A Y
April 23, 2025 Vol. 45, No. 42
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@wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
What it costs to campaign in Oak Park Candidates submit final tally of funds raised and spent in the April 1 election By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
So, how much does it cost to get elected in Oak Park? Well, it turns out the answer varies. All the candidates in Oak Park’s 2025 village board and village president races have submitted their campaign finance reports to the Illinois State Board of Elections, whose deadline for submitting reports on campaign fundraising and spending from New Year’s Day to March 31, was the eve of suburban Cook County’s municipal elections. Reports for all candidates were due by April 15. The reports reveal that incumbent Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman raised more than twice as much as challenger Ravi Parakkat over the course of her successful reelection bid, while top trustee race vote-getter Chibuike Enyia spent the least out of the field, according to state records. Printing, signage, mailing and social media advertising represented a significant portion of each candidate’s expenditures. According to state records, a significant portion of each candidates’ marketing budget also went to print and digital advertising with Wednesday Journal’s parent organization Growing Community Media.
VICKI SCAMAN
Special section Page B1
Finally official, Gertz wins 4th seat on OPRF school board Write-in Schaafsma falls 900 votes short
RAVI PARAKKAT
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
JAVIER GOVEA
Vicki Scaman Scaman, who retained her seat at the head of the board table with 62.8% of the vote, reported raising just over $46,000 between Jan. 1 and Election Day. That total represents a big jump over her fun-
draising performance during her first village president bid in 2021, in which she raised just under $27,000, according to state records. See SPENDING REPORT on page 7
It’s been a rough month of April for Josh Gertz – waiting and wondering. Did he have enough votes to win a seat on the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 board of education? Turns out, he did. With four seats up for grabs on election day April 1, incumbents Fred Arkin and Audrey Williams-Lee and newcomer Kathleen Odell were guaranteed seats. That left Gertz in fourth place pending the slow counting of ballots cast for write-in candidate David Schaafsma. Nate Mellman, who ran with Gertz, was out of the running. See D200 ELECTION on page 11
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