'Final Four' defeats Ashley Fischer in contentious Morton school board race
Morton's "Final Four" candidates led opponent Dr. Ashley Fischer by a wide margin in the Morton school board race Tuesday night.
Each of the top four candidates garnered close to 4,500 votes to Fischer's 1,382, with 100% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial Tazewell County election results.
In a particularly tense competition, Morton voters making their way to the polls had the opportunity to weigh in on who should fill the four open seats in the village's school board race. Incumbents Jerry Rudd and Dr. Diane Krall ran as part of a slate with Wes Ohnesorge and Krystiana Purdy
Those four, who titled themselves the "Final Four" in campaign mailers and messaging, competed against Fischer, a local pediatrician. After 10 p.m. Tuesday, all "Final Four" candidates had more than 4,000 votes, running ahead of Fischer's 1,382 votes.
Krall was already set to be reelected due to a rule requiring the election of one person from the unincorporated portion of Morton.
In a joint statement Tuesday night, the four winning candidates shared their thoughts on their successful campaign and plans for the future.
"We share the same principles and ran as a team, and we are gratified with the overwhelming results of the election," Purdy stated, speaking for her fellow candidates. "We will be responsive to students, parents, teachers and taxpayers. We are pleased that we will be able to continue making improvements in our already high-quality school district. The four candidates thank the community for their support."While Illinois school board races are by rule nonpartisan, Tazewell County political groups backed the candidates, with the Tazewell County Moms for Liberty and the Tazewell County Republicans expressing support for the "Final Four." Fischer garnered support from the Tazewell County Democrats.