Scott Hall, the River Forest District 90 elementary school board candidate, will not have his votes certified on April 27, according to the Cook County Clerk’s office Director of Communications Frank Herrera.
Herrera told Wednesday Journal on April 8 that Hall filed an official withdrawal of candidacy before the election but after the clerk’s office had time to remove his name from the ballot.
Prior to this communication from Herrera, it was uncertain whether Hall had simply announced he was no longer running or had officially pulled out of the election. The latter is the case.
“Based on the fact that he withdrew his candidacy before the election, these unofficial votes will not be made official,” wrote Herrera.
On March 25, Hall announced he had suspended his run for one of four seats on River Forest’s elementary school D90 board, but his name was still on the ballot, and he received the third highest number of votes out of the five candidates.
Katie Avalos (1,769 votes, 23.8 percent) took the lead in the race, followed by Stacey Williams (1,710 votes, 23 percent). Hall (1,478 votes, 19.9 percent) narrowly led Nicole Thompson (1,456 votes, 19.6 percent). Newcomer Sarah Eckmann received 1,032 votes or 13.6 percent.
Since Hall’s votes won’t be counted, Eckmann will join the D90 school board. Incumbents Avalos, Williams and Thompson were reelected. Other board members are Cal Davis, Rich Moore and Barb Hickey, whose terms expire in 2023.
When Hall announced his departure from the race, he said he was withdrawing after he and his family were harassed. Subsequently he resigned a volunteer role in the schools after allegations arose that he had misused a parent database in his campaign.
Hall could not be reached for comment.
