Summit incumbent trustees swept from office
Independents win 3 seats on village board
By Bob Bong and Carol McGowan
There will be a big change on the next Summit Village Board when three independent candidates take office in May.
According to complete but unofficial results, Sonia Ponce, Aurora Rodriguez, and Lorena Manriquez easily beat the Village Party slate of Aleco Julius, Art Sullivan and the late Karen Wasko.
Sonia Ponce
Ponce led the challengers with 519 votes, Rodriguez had 429 votes and Manriquez tallied 406. Julius polled 354 votes, Sullivan garnered 351 votes, and Wasko, who died in a car crash on St. Patrick’s Day, received 282 votes. Turnout was 17.4 percent.
The challengers had been endorsed by incumbent Trustee Mayra “Camacho” Ortiz, who broke with the Village Party ahead of this election.
“This was a big success, not for us personally, but the Village of Summit,” said Ponce. “We were able to engage a lot of new voters, and remind them of the power of their votes. I’m also very blessed to have worked with two very strong women with the same determination and goal as mine, and who made the journey a lot easier for me. We did this all with the support of our husbands, family, and the entire community. We are ready for the next step.”
“I’m excited to represent our community and re-engage our residents for a positive experience and trust,” Manriquez said. “I’m honored and privileged to have received so much support from our community, and I’m ready to go to work.”
“I’m very humbled that the people of summit came out and supported us,” said Rodriguez. “I thank everybody that was behind us. It’s a great feeling for a lot of work that was put in and people responded very well to us. We are grateful for this victory.”
Aurora Rodriguez
Mayor Sergio Rodriguez, the leader of the Village Party, said, “I want to thank everyone for all of their hard work. Aleco, Karen (Wasko) and I started together eight years ago. We wouldn’t have seen the progress we have without them. I will continue to do the work I have done, and I will always be for Summit. I will continue to move the village forward, and always be grateful for the work our now angel Trustee Karen (Wasko) has done for us, along with Trustee Julius and Trustee Sullivan. We may have lost now, but we will come back stronger.”
“We will see how things work out with the new trustees coming in and what they can contribute,” said Sullivan.
Julius declined to comment.
in other races in the village:
Dallis Anderson Jr. and Rodolfo Santoyo ran unopposed for two six-year terms on the Summit Park District board.
Mirian Cruz, Erica Munoz and Avzi Dardovski were unopposed for three four-year terms on the Summit Public Library District board.
Lorena Manriquez
2 Comments
Local News
Year of growth | Evergreen Park enjoying inaugural boys volleyball season
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After almost 70 years of existence as a high school, Evergreen Park finally has a boys volleyball team. The Mustangs are playing their inaugural season with a junior varsity squad, with some matches being played at the varsity level. Head coach Brian Zofkie is leading this group with assistant…
Boys Volleyball | Brother Rice falls to Glenbard West and York, takes 4th at Smack Attack
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent It was a busy weekend in the area for boys volleyball as Brother Rice hosted its 14th annual Smack Attack tournament. The 24-team event played April 19-20 featured area teams Brother Rice, Marist and Richards, along with defending Class 4A champion Glenbard West and two highly rated teams from…
Swanson scores, assists in Red Stars’ win over Reign
Spread the loveThe Red Stars improved to 3-1-1 by beating the Seattle Reign, 2-1, on the road on April 21. Mallory Swanson had an assist on an Ali Schlegel goal in the fourth minute and added a goal of her own in the 31st minute. Swanson missed last season after sustaining a knee injury on…
Red Stars’ Tatumn Milazzo has top Save of the Week
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Tatumn Milazzo called her achievement “funny.” The Chicago Red Stars defender and Orland Park native was awarded the NWSL’s Save of the Week after chasing down a ball in a loss to Angel City on April 13. The Save of the Week usually goes to a goalie. Milazzo laughed…
Men’s College Volleyball | Saint Xavier captures fifth straight conference tourney title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The SXU men’s volleyball team won its fifth straight Chicagoland Christian Athletic Conference tournament championship after a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Calumet College of St. Joseph on April 20 at the Shannon Center. Jan Lopuch had 10 kills and nine digs for the Cougars. With the win, the…
College Baseball | Saint Xavier upsets Eastern Illinois
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier baseball team picked up a win that its players are going to remember for a long time. The Cougars stunned Eastern Illinois, 4-2, on April 17 in Charleston. It was the Cougars’ first win over the Panthers, a Division I program, since 2005. Lyons grad Troy…
Boys Volleyball | Glenbard West tops Marist to stay unbeaten
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Marist boys volleyball team, ranked fifth in the nation by USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches, lost to Glenbard West, 25-23, 25-21, in the championship match at the Brother Rice Smack Attack on April 20 in Chicago. Glenbard West (19-0) is the two-time defending state champion and is ranked third…
St. Laurence hoops teams top honor roll
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area basketball teams proved to be strong on the court and in the classroom this season, and St. Laurence was the leader of the pack. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association compiled a list of the top academic teams, and the area did well. In Division 3 girls, St. Laurence…
Chicago Bears recognize St. Rita senior with All-Star award
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chances are good that few outside of St. Rita football circles know who David Lyle is. With good reason. Lyle missed his senior season for the Mustangs last fall after sustaining a serious knee injury. He even postponed having knee surgery so that he could take care of his…
Softball | Oak Lawn’s Kasey Jackson fans 5 in loss to Shepard
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn entered its South Suburban Conference matchup with Shepard having won six of its last seven games. The Astros — even hotter with seven straight victories after beginning the season with three consecutive losses — cooled off the Spartans (8-5, 4-2 SSC) for a day, winning 3-0 behind…
Neighbors
Illinoisans can now get documents notarized online
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinoisans who need a notary public can now access those services online through a new “E-Notary” portal launched by the secretary of state’s office. This process is one of the latest initiatives of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ ongoing effort to modernize the office and its services. Notaries…
Prairie Band Potawatomi becomes 1st federally recognized tribe in Illinois
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Nearly 200 years after Native Americans were forced out of Illinois, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has become the first federally recognized tribal nation in the state after a decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior last week. The move represents the first victory in the tribe’s…
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Capitol Briefs: Expansion of postpartum coverage, ban on kangaroos among hundreds of measures to pass House
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being forced to surrender their marsupials this week after the House passed a bill criminalizing their possession. That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday procedural deadline.…
Pritzker says state ‘obviously’ needs to change 2010 law that shrunk pension benefits
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com With a month-and-a-half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system. But the governor this week also acknowledged in the strongest terms yet that any plans to finally get the state on track toward…
Pritzker’s health insurance reforms targeting ‘utilization management’ clear House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated a partial legislative victory Thursday night when the House passed his initiative to end some practices health insurance companies use to control the amount and cost of health care services individual patients receive. The “Healthcare Protection Act,” House Bill 5395, cleared the…
Lawmakers, cannabis industry calls for ban on ‘delta-8’ and other psychoactive hemp products
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ largest cannabis business association is pushing to ban the sale of delta-8 THC, an increasingly popular psychoactive substance that’s popped up in corner stores across the country in recent years. New legislation filed in Springfield this week revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: Bill creating new early childhood agency among 244 to advance
By ALEX ABBEDUTO HANNAH MEISEL & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to create a new state agency to oversee Illinois’ various early childhood programs moved forward on Friday after the state Senate’s unanimous approval. It was one of 244 bills that cleared the Senate this week. Early childhood…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead, a technician…
This was many months of personal door knocking, meet and greets, phone banking and fundraising, all to give the community a chance to hear our hopes and dreams for Summit. With the best intentions we fought our way and earned every single vote we received. It was a long and hard journey but like they say, everything worthwhile in life is never easy. We will work hard to serve the community, Summit we heard you and your concerns and are now ready to work. Thank you for giving us a chance. Gracias Summit por esta oportunidad!
Congratulations on your new life in the village of Summit trustee’s. I hope you do a wonderful job and in the future of the world.