D201 election

[Ted]

On April 2, 2019, voters will be going to the polls to vote on candidates for the school boards and park district boards. Early voting begins on March 18.

Here is a synopsis of two candidates who are running for the Morton High School district 201 based on presentations they made at the All Berwyn Committee candidates forum.

Edwin Robles:

Edwin Robles is a 2014 graduate of Morton East. He is 23 years old and a graduate of Univerisity of Illinois Springfield.

His mother is a Mexican immigrant who was pregnant with him when she came to this country. He was born in Chicago and raised in Cicero. He was part of the debate club at Morton East.

As a recent graduate, he believes the grading system works against the students and is geared toward achieving a higher graduation rate rather than educating the student.

He took a core course in his senior year rather than an AP course and stated that the core courses were not challenging the students. He was an active member in PASS (Parents Against Sinking Standards).

He said the current administration is not transparent and he wants more transparency and less "crony politics".

He also wants to start up an active alumni association.

Esteban Rodriguez:

He is running for the D201 board with Esteban Rodriguez, a 2006 graduate of Morton East. Mr. Rodriguez was part of a program in 2011/2012 that reduced teen pregnancy by 60% in the district. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a masters in business administration. He is a life long Cicero resident.

Robles and Rodriguez are running against 3 incumbents who are backed by the Larry Dominick's Cicero Voters Alliance. Their petitions were challenged but they were able to stay on the ballot.


Also running for the District 201 board are Jeffrey Pesek, Mark Kraft and Lido Manetti.  All three are incumbents and are supported by Larry Dominick and the Cicero Voters Alliance. None of the incumbents appeared at the candidates forum.