Oak Park, River Forest 2019 Election Results

OAK PARK, IL — Oak Park and River Forest voters marked their ballots Tuesday in the consolidated election. All 11 candidates were seeking to be elected into three open trustee seats on the village board.

Those running for Oak Park trustee were Bridgett Baron, Graham Brisben, Susan Buchanan, Thomas Gary, Christian Harris, Joshua Klayman, Arti Walker Peddakotla, James "Jim" Taglia, James Thompson, Tim Thomas and Cory J. Wesley.

Susan Buchanan, James Taglia and Arti Walker-Peddakotla secured the most votes April 2:

Susan Buchanan is a commissioner on the Oak Park Board of Health. After spending nearly a decade working as a family doctor, she spent the next 15 years researching the health effects of environmental pollutants and working to improve workers' health and safety. Some of her top priorities include affordable housing, racial equality and the environment.

James "Jim" Taglia, a lifelong Oak Park resident, has served on the village board since 2017. Prior to that, he worked as an Oak Park Township trustee for six years, and served on the Intergovernmental and Senior Services Committees, as well as the Community Mental Health Board. Taglia is a Certified Public Accountant and has co-owned Pro-Chem-Co, a specialty chemical manufacturer supplying the steel industry, for more than three decades.

Arti Walker Peddakotla is a technologist, scientist, army veteran and domestic and sexual violence survivor. Peddakotla has fought for equal representation in STEM and human rights in Congress. She currently works in the tech sector as a senior product manager at a nonprofit tech company. One of her top priorities is fighting for racial equity in Oak Park.

Library Trustee results: