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Village Trustee or Village President — Village of Oak Park — Village of Oak Park, Cook County

Filing Fee: No filing fee — confirm with Village Clerk Term: 4-year terms — no term limits Seats: Typically 3 Trustee seats + Village President (if up) per cycle — confirm with Clerk Election: April 6, 2027

🗳️ Oak Park uses Ranked Choice Voting for Village Trustee elections. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If you're running for Trustee, understand RCV dynamics — broad coalition-building matters more than being anyone's first choice. Voters can rank up to 3 candidates.

Oak Park is a home rule municipality (population ~53,000). It operates under a Village President + Board of Trustees structure and has adopted ranked choice voting (RCV) for Village Trustee races.

The Village Board consists of a Village President (elected at-large, chief executive) and 6 Village Trustees (elected at-large, village-wide). Trustees serve 4-year staggered terms — typically 3 seats are up per election cycle. The Village President race and trustee races are all at-large (any Oak Park voter can vote for all trustee candidates).

✓ Who Can Run

Be at least 18 years old
Be a U.S. citizen and a registered voter in Oak Park
Reside within the Village of Oak Park
Not hold another incompatible public office (confirm with Village Clerk)

📋 What You Need to File

Decide whether you're running for Village President or Village Trustee — they are separate races with different dynamics.
Download the candidate packet from the Oak Park Village Clerk's office (oak-park.us/village-clerk).
Collect petition signatures from registered voters in Oak Park. The standard formula is 5% of votes cast in the last election for that office. Your clerk will confirm the exact number. Collect at least 1.5x the minimum.
Starting approximately August 2026, circulate your petition sheets.
File your notarized Statement of Candidacy and petition papers with the Oak Park Village Clerk during the filing window (estimated November 2026 — confirm exact dates).
File a Statement of Economic Interests.
Register a political committee with the Illinois State Board of Elections if you raise or spend more than $5,000.
If running for Trustee, study how ranked choice voting works — campaign strategy differs from plurality elections.

Tip: Check off items as you complete them. Your progress is saved in your browser — sign up or log in to access it from any device.

📅 Key Deadlines

Petition circulation begins (estimated) ~August 2026
Filing window (estimated) ~November 2026
Election day April 6, 2027

📍 Where to File

Oak Park Village Clerk's Office — 123 Madison St., Oak Park, IL 60302 | (708) 358-5670 | oak-park.us

🔗 Helpful Links

Village of Oak Park — Village Clerk → Oak Park — Running for Office → Cook County Clerk — Candidates & Officials → Illinois State Board of Elections — Running for Office →

Last updated: 2026-04-18

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