Park district and library board seats are on the April 6, 2027 ballot. To run, you circulate a petition signed by registered voters in the district, then file it with the right office between November 16 and 23, 2026: the Park District Secretary for a park board, the Library District Secretary for a library district, or the municipal or township clerk for a municipal or township library. Your packet also needs a notarized Statement of Candidacy and a receipt showing you filed a Statement of Economic Interests. After the objection window closes, you campaign to April 6.
These races rarely get much attention, so a candidate who knocks doors and explains why they are running can make a real impression. The steps below follow the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) 2027 Candidate's Guide and calendar. Neither is legal advice, and this post is not either; your district secretary or an election attorney has the final word. For every other office, see our guide to running for local office in Illinois.
Step 1: Confirm which board, and where you file
First, figure out what kind of body you are running for. It changes where you file.
- Park district board: file "With the Park District Secretary" (Guide p. 40; 70 ILCS 1205/2-11).
- Public library district board: file "With the Library District Secretary" (Guide p. 42; 75 ILCS 16/30-20(a)).
- Township or municipal library trustee (a library run by a town or township rather than a separate district): file with the "Local municipal or township clerk" (Guide p. 44).
Your library's website or annual report usually says whether it is a district or a municipal library. If it is unclear, call the library's administrative office and ask who the board secretary is, or call the village clerk.
Then put the April 6 track dates on your calendar:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Circulation could begin | August 25, 2026 |
| Filing period | November 16 to 23, 2026 |
| Statement of Economic Interests receipt due | 5:00 p.m., November 23, 2026 |
| Objections due | December 1 or 2, 2026 |
| Ballot lottery held by | December 2, 2026 |
| Ballot certified | January 28, 2027 |
| Early voting opens | February 25, 2027 (March 12 where a February primary ran) |
| Election | April 6, 2027 |
Because a district secretary may keep different hours than a county clerk, ask early when the office will be open during the filing week.
Step 2: Get your signature number
The state's published formulas are:
- Park district: 2% of the last vote for the office, with a minimum of 25 (70 ILCS 1205/2-11).
- Library district: 2% or 50, whichever is less (75 ILCS 16/30-20).
Confirm both with your district secretary before you print a single sheet; local election history decides the number, and the secretary can tell you exactly what applies to your seat. For a township or municipal library trustee, ask the clerk where you will file for the number.
Whatever the number, plan a margin. Objections strike invalid signatures, and many campaigns aim for 1.5 to 2 times the minimum. That is common practice, not a legal requirement. When the minimum is 25, a margin is easy to reach and very cheap insurance.
Step 3: Circulate the petition
The paper rules are the same ones that apply to every Illinois candidate, and they are where small-race candidates most often slip.
Get the right form and fill the heading first. Ask the secretary or clerk which petition form to use. Fill in the heading (election, your name, the office, your residence) completely and identically on every sheet before anyone signs. Use the same name on the petition and your Statement of Candidacy, with no titles or slogans.
Circulators. Anyone who is a U.S. citizen and 18 or older (or 18 by the consolidated election) can circulate. They do not have to be registered voters or live in the district. You can circulate your own petition, and so can qualified family members. One circulator per sheet, and that person must personally witness every signature.
Signers. Each signer must be a registered voter in the district, at the address written next to their name. Park and library district lines often do not match village lines, so check addresses near the edges. Each person signs for themselves. For nonpartisan races, ISBE says the number of seats to be elected is the number of petitions a voter can sign; ask the secretary or clerk how your race is listed.
Timing. No signature gathered more than 90 days before the last filing day counts.
Ink and paper. The official form, original signatures, dark ink recommended. Illinois candidate petitions cannot be signed electronically.
The circulator's statement. At the bottom of each sheet, the circulator gives their address and the dates circulated, certifies that each signature was made in their presence, and signs before a notary. ISBE suggests not using a petition signer as the notary.
Step 4: Assemble and file your packet
Before filing, read each line. If a signer lives outside the district, strike the line: only the candidate or circulator may strike, with initials at the strike and a certificate of deletions (SBE Form P-2A).
Your packet:
- Statement of Candidacy, notarized, on top.
- Petition sheets, originals, numbered from 1, fastened in book form at one edge.
- Receipt for your Statement of Economic Interests. File the SEI with the county clerk of the county where the park or library district's principal office is, then file the receipt with the secretary or clerk who takes your petition, by 5:00 p.m. on November 23.
- Certificate of deletions, if you struck any lines.
The Loyalty Oath is optional. You may file in person, by mail or through an agent. Once filed, the petition cannot be changed, except to add the SEI receipt by the deadline.
If you are in line when the office opens on November 16, you are treated as filing simultaneously with everyone else in line (and the first USPS delivery), and a lottery decides who appears first. Filing between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on November 23 enters a drawing for the last positions.
Step 5: Get through the objection window
Any legal voter of the district can object within five business days after the last filing day, which is December 2, 2026, or December 1 if the filing office was open Friday, November 27. An objection is filed with an original and two copies at the office where you filed.
Objections to park and library district candidates are heard by the County Officers Electoral Board: the county clerk as chair, the circuit court clerk and the state's attorney, or their designees (10 ILCS 5/10-9(2)). If the district spans more than one county, it is the board of the county where the principal office is. If the district sits wholly within a municipal board of election commissioners' jurisdiction, that board hears it instead.
The board meets three to five days after its chair receives the objection, can subpoena records, and must state its findings in writing. Circuit court review must be sought within five days of the decision. If you are served, call an election attorney that day.
Step 6: Campaign to April 6
Once the ballot is certified on January 28, you have about four weeks until early voting opens February 25 and about ten until election day. For a park or library seat, a realistic plan is to:
- Knock the precincts where your district's voters are most concentrated.
- Show up where your voters already are: park programs, library events, youth sports sign-ups.
- Remind supporters when early voting opens and again the weekend before April 6.
If you raise or spend more than $5,000 in a 12-month period, including your own money, you must file a Form D-1 with ISBE within 10 business days (2 business days within 30 days of the election).
Step 7: Route your doors and remind your supporters
Build and route your walk list in Beacon. Load the registered voters inside the district boundary (ask your county clerk or county party how to get the list), and Beacon puts every door on a map. Route optimization orders each walk, territory management keeps two volunteers off the same block, and offline mode keeps recording where the signal drops, then syncs later. At each door you record the result, a 1 to 5 rating and notes, and a survey question can ask, "Can we text you when early voting opens?"
Text the supporters who opted in, from CampaignCNX+. Collect each yes on a dated sheet that plainly says the person agrees to campaign texts; a petition signature does not count as consent. Our post on turning petition season into a supporter list has sample wording. Then schedule your February 25 reminder inside quiet hours and handle replies in the two-way inbox.
Texting as a campaign needs Campaign Verify, which requires a committee with an EIN and a filing published by an election authority. If you request it on or after November 15, 2026, it lasts to January 31, 2029; earlier requests expire January 31, 2027, before your election. See Campaign Verify for local candidates.
Your early voting reminder, ready in advance
A park or library race may only need a few hundred texts. CampaignCNX+ pay as you go is $0.06 per SMS, and it files your carrier registration for you. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. Through January 31, 2027, Illinois campaigns can also get 1,000 free texts with a month of Pro plus white-glove setup for $149 (normally $299); see our Illinois political texting page.