Mary Jo Mullen and incumbent Chris Pecak are running for Lisle mayor in April 2025.
Another local election is months away, and yet there is no shortage of intrigue in some DuPage County towns.
As the candidate filing process began in earnest Tuesday, West Chicago already has a three-way race for mayor. Incumbents in Lisle and Elmhurst also have drawn challengers.
Over the next week, candidates for mayor as well as city council and village board seats can continue to file their nominating petitions to put their names on spring ballots. The filing period closes Monday, Nov. 18.
Here’s a snapshot of some contests so far:
Lisle
Incumbent Mayor Chris Pecak is expected to face at least one opponent: Mary Jo Mullen, a current village trustee.
Mullen is campaigning under the banner “Lisle Forward” with a slate of village board candidates.
“I’m running for mayor because I think Lisle really needs change,” said Mullen, who served as Lisle Township supervisor before being elected to the village board in 2021. “We’ve been making progress around development and economic development very, very slowly.”
The party slate also is comprised of Tom Duffy, who is seeking to retain his trustee seat; Kristy Grau, a trustee hopeful who is now the village clerk; Christy McGovern, a former trustee who is running for the third available board seat; and village clerk hopeful Edward McQuillan.
The Lisle Forward party won three board seats in 2023. Mullen and Duffy also ran together under a different party name in 2021.
Pecak and incumbent Trustee Dan Greco are part of another slate, dubbed “Lisle First with PFL,” which in previous years stood for Prosperity for Lisle. Pecak is seeking his third term as mayor.
“We’ve done a lot of good work over the last eight years, and we still have a lot of good work ahead of us,” he said.
West Chicago
Incumbent Ruben Pineda could face at least two mayoral challengers in his reelection bid.
Daniel Bovey and Joseph Sheehan have both filed their paperwork to run against Pineda in April 2025.
Pineda became West Chicago’s first elected Hispanic mayor more than a decade ago.
“I’ve been dedicating my life to this community since high school,” he said. “I’ve always been involved one way or another. I’ve always been willing and able to do things. If I can do something to help this community, I’m going to do it.”
During his tenure, the city has crafted a new comprehensive plan to guide development and landed in the 20th spot on Fortune’s annual list of best places to live for families.
“We’ve accomplished a lot, and I want to see those kinds of things done, and to get our downtown redevelopment happening,” Pineda said.
Bovey, a pastor of a bilingual church and a 25-year-resident, has been locked in a lengthy dispute with the city over his family’s backyard geodesic dome greenhouse.
“It’s our belief that God uses bad things oftentimes and turns them into good, and we were looking for a way to see that happen in our case,” Bovey said.
Bovey and other first-time candidates have plans for a campaign kickoff downtown on Nov. 23.
One priority is to make city hall “a more friendly and customer service-oriented place.” Bovey contends that some of the downtown revitalization strategies “have not worked for a very long time, and a fresh look is needed.”
“We really want to lead West Chicago to be a unified community, and we believe that West Chicago has some incredible uniqueness in DuPage County with its diversity,” Bovey said.
Pineda said he can’t comment on the greenhouse, citing that it’s a legal matter.
“It’ll be the first time somebody has run against me in a while,” he said. “There have been other people that have tried and for one reason or another weren’t allowed on the ballot. But I’m a competitor, and I’ve been a competitor all my life, and I hope they know enough about this community as much as I do, because again, I know its history.”
Elmhurst
Scott Levin is vying for another term as the city’s mayor against challenger Mark Mulliner, a former 7th Ward alderman, in a rematch of sorts. No other mayoral candidates have come forward so far.
Levin defeated three mayoral contenders — Mulliner, another fellow alderman and a write-in candidate — to earn his first term four years ago.
Glendale Heights
The village president candidates who have filed so far are Rebecca Giannelli, Michael Light, James Sullivan and Mike Ontiveroz.
Among village board races, District 2 incumbent Trustee Mohammad Siddiqi and three other candidates — Margaret Landgraf, Dan Sullivan and Abdul Manan — have filed to run next year.
So far, five people — Tom Barton, John Biacan, Randall Fowlkes, Adeel Salam and Alamar Zaidi — have filed for the District 6 seat.
Warrenville
The city received two filings for mayor, Andrew Johnson and Michael Hoffman.
Hoffman ran for Warrenville mayor in 2021 and previously served as an alderman.
Johnson returned to the plan commission in April after serving as a commissioner from 1988-93, according to a social media account.
Incumbent Mayor David Brummel did not state his candidacy on the first day of filing for municipal office. Candidates have until 5 p.m. Nov. 18 to do so.
A five-term Warrenville mayor, Brummel was first elected in 2005 after serving two terms as alderman.
Elsewhere
In Lombard, incumbent trustees Bernard Dudek and Bob Bachner filed for another term to represent districts 3 and 6 respectively. Anthony Puccio filed for village president and Brittney Conway filed for village clerk. Village board seats in districts 1, 3 and 6 are up for election.
District 4 Trustee Andrew Honig announced his resignation Nov. 7 after winning a seat on the DuPage County Board, leaving a vacancy on the village board.
In Roselle, Mayor David Pileski and incumbent trustees Thomas Piorkowski, Tom Della Penna and Cheryl Lenisa all filed for reelection Monday. Roselle resident Jennifer Theodore filed for village clerk.
In Itasca, Village President Jeff Pruyn filed for reelection under the Citizens for Progress slate with incumbent trustees Jeff Aiani, Patrick Powers and Melissa Christensen. Village Clerk Jody Conidi also filed for reelection under the same party.
Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham did not file for candidacy on Tuesday but said she plans to later this week.
Cunningham has been Woodridge’s mayor since 2013 and joined village government as a trustee in 1999.