---
title: Dan Coyne — District 65 School Board
url: https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/dan-coyne/
updated: 2026-10-06
source_policy: every fact carries a numbered source; [n] markers refer to the Sources list
---

[Home](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/) / [District 65 School Board](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/) / Dan Coyne

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 District 65 School Board · Announced · filing opens Nov 16

# Dan Coyne

Retired District 65 social worker. Former Ridgeville Park District commissioner. [1]

## At a glance

- Declared — September 17, 2026.[1]
- Occupation — Retired. Social worker in District 65 for 10 years, at seven schools and the RISE program at King Arts, and 14 years before that in Chicago Public Schools.[1]
- Public office — Former Ridgeville Park District commissioner (elected 2013, reelected 2019).[1]
- Connection to D65 — Former District 65 social worker.[1]
- Prior runs — 2013 and 2019, Ridgeville Park District board: won both.[1]
## Stated priorities

From the candidate’s announcement, as reported by the Evanston RoundTable. Listed, not evaluated.

- “live within our means, and let’s fund the schools that we can afford, well” [1]

## Record

Facts from public records, campaign filings and published news reports, each checked against its primary source. Same categories and the same review for every candidate. Listed, not evaluated. Last reviewed Tue Oct 6, 2026.

### Campaign finance

- 2016–2022: Illinois State Board of Elections records list eight itemized contributions from Coyne to other Illinois political committees between April 2016 and December 2022, totaling $1,360: Friends of Brian Miller ($500), Friends of Matthew Marley Mitchell ($300), Evanston Voter Initiative Committee ($200), Juan for 9th Ward Councilmember ($200) and Friends of Nancy ($160).[2]
- 2016–2026: Federal Election Commission records list three contributions from Coyne between August 2016 and July 2026 totaling $375, counting each contribution routed through ActBlue once and excluding tips to ActBlue; they include $175 to Biss for Congress in the 2026 race for Illinois' 9th Congressional District, in June 2025 and July 2026.[3]
- Oct 2026: As of Oct. 6, 2026, the Illinois State Board of Elections listed no political committee for him.[4]

### Public office

- 2013–2019: Coyne was elected a Ridgeville Park District commissioner on April 9, 2013, when three candidates ran for three seats, and re-elected on April 2, 2019, finishing third of four candidates for three seats.[5][6]
- 2015–2022: Coyne applied for appointment to the vacant 9th Ward City Council seat in 2015 and again in 2022, and was not selected either time.[7][8][9]
- 2020: As a Ridgeville Park District commissioner, Coyne raised at the board's May 14, 2020 meeting whether the district should be dissolved so that taxpayers could pay less property tax. At the July 9, 2020 meeting he offered to table his own agenda item as "not essential business" and the board president chose to proceed; the minutes record him as undecided and "not leading any effort to dissolve," and the board voted 3–2, with Coyne and Commissioner Matthew Mitchell voting no, to table the topic indefinitely.[10][11][12]
- Jul 2021: Coyne resigned as a Ridgeville Park District commissioner effective Aug. 1, 2021, with more than three years left in his term; his letter, recorded in the July 8, 2021 minutes, says serving "has been a wonderful experience and opportunity that I'll cherish forever" and does not give a reason for leaving.[13]
- 2020: Approved Ridgeville Park District minutes record Coyne voting yes on the district's fiscal 2020–21 tentative budget on July 9, 2020 and on its levy ordinance for the same fiscal year on Dec. 10, 2020; both passed 5–0.[11][14]

### Property and taxes

- Jul 2025: A memorandum recorded with the Cook County Clerk on July 21, 2025 states that Coyne and a second individual entered into articles of agreement for deed for 827 Monroe St., Evanston, with the property's record owners on March 1, 1999; it does not state a price, terms or the interest conveyed.[15]

### Legal and regulatory

- 2010–2015: On Dec. 16, 2015 the Chicago Board of Education dismissed Coyne, a tenured CPS social worker, effective June 24, 2016, after an impartial hearing officer recommended against discharge; the resolution gives no reason and refers to a separate Opinion and Order, which the Chicago Sun-Times reported was based on his not living in Chicago. The Board had issued him warning resolutions in May 2010 and June 2014, and in October 2010 rescinded the first because it had not notified him that his social worker position was no longer exempt from its residency policy.[16][17][18][19]
- 2019–2020: By November 2019 Coyne had filed a complaint with the Evanston Board of Ethics alleging that Ald. Ann Rainey's remarks about him at the April 1, 2019 Rules Committee and City Council meetings, the day before his Ridgeville Park District re-election, were prohibited political activity. In August 2020 the board found that her comments "may have been intemperate and insensitive; however, her comments did not constitute a prohibited political activity or a campaign for an elected office," and that her response to his public comments was made in furtherance of her official duties.[20][21][22]
- Oct 2026: As of Oct. 6, 2026, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation records show that Coyne's Licensed Social Worker license, first issued in 2002, expired on Feb. 28, 2022 with the status "Not Renewed" and no discipline recorded.[23]

### Statements and conduct

- Jan 2017: Minutes of the District 65 board's Jan. 10, 2017 special meeting summarize Coyne, speaking as a former district parent, as supporting the tax-rate referendum on the April 2017 ballot, "noting that it would take $40/month out of families but is a great investment."[24]
- May 2023: At the May 1, 2023 meeting of the City Council's Human Services Committee, Coyne spoke in support of moving forward on video gaming, saying, "Thank you for engaging this conversation on what I think is a potential resource not only for our small businesses, but also for our city budget."[25]
- Aug 2025: Coyne, then a District 65 school social worker, presented the board an information item proposing "Care for Learners," a pilot fund housed in the Reba Place Fellowship Ministry Fund that would use private donations to buy gift cards for King Arts families; his memo states the fund "will not require any public funds," and no board vote is recorded.[26][27]
- Jan 2026: Coyne spoke in support of Envision Evanston 2045 during public comment at the January 2026 City Council meeting at which the plan was approved.[28]
- Sep 2026: Announcing his candidacy, Coyne told the Evanston RoundTable, "So in my mind, part of the answer could easily be — although it's a tough one to swallow: live within our means, and let's fund the schools that we can afford, well."[29]

Records reviewed for every candidate

Illinois State Board of Elections campaign-finance filings; City of Evanston, District 65 and park-district meeting records and payments; Cook County Assessor property and exemption records; Cook County recorded documents; federal and state court databases; Illinois professional-license and attorney-registration records; the candidate’s own websites and public social media; and Evanston RoundTable, Evanston Now, Daily Northwestern and other news archives. Property-tax exemption records are not yet shown for any candidate; they will be added for all candidates at the same time, once each can be confirmed from the same public tax-bill records.

Campaign links

- None found as of Tue Oct 6, 2026
Also running · District 65 board

- [Dan Coyne](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/dan-coyne/)
- [Danny Orrock](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/danny-orrock/)
- [Chris Van Nostrand](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/chris-van-nostrand/)
- [Natika Washington](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/d65/natika-washington/)

How this profile is made

Profiles use the same sections, in the same order, for every candidate. Facts come from the candidate’s own campaign materials, official records and published news reports, and each one is footnoted. Positions on specific city plans and votes — such as Envision Evanston 2045 — will be covered for every candidate together in “On the issues.” Candidates can submit information or corrections through the [About page](https://evanstonvoterguide.com/about/#candidates).

## Sources

1. Evanston RoundTable — Retired District 65 social worker Dan Coyne is running for school board (Sept. 17, 2026) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2026/09/17/retired-district-65-social-worker-dan-coyne-is-running-for-school-board/
2. Illinois State Board of Elections — Contribution search, contributor Coyne, Evanston (accessed Oct 6, 2026) — https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ContributionSearchByAllContributions.aspx
3. Federal Election Commission — Individual contributions: Coyne, Dan, Evanston, IL, 2015–2026 (accessed Oct. 6, 2026) — https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=coyne%2C+dan&contributor_city=evanston&contributor_state=IL&two_year_transaction_period=2016&two_year_transaction_period=2018&two_year_transaction_period=2020&two_year_transaction_period=2022&two_year_transaction_period=2024&two_year_transaction_period=2026
4. Illinois State Board of Elections — Committee search (accessed Oct. 6, 2026) — https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/CommitteeSearch.aspx
5. Cook County Clerk — Summary report, April 9, 2013 consolidated election — https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/SummaryReport40913.pdf
6. Cook County Clerk — Summary report, April 2, 2019 consolidated election — https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/SummaryReport40219.pdf
7. Evanston Now — Four seek appointment as 9th ward alderman (Apr 2, 2015) — https://evanstonnow.com/four-seek-appointment-as-9th-ward-alderman/
8. Evanston Now — Six seek 9th Ward aldermanic post (Jan 22, 2022) — https://evanstonnow.com/six-seek-9th-ward-aldermanic-post/
9. Evanston RoundTable — Big field emerges for vacated Council seat in Ninth Ward (Feb 21, 2022) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2022/02/21/big-field-emerges-for-vacated-council-seat-in-ninth-ward/
10. Ridgeville Park District — Approved minutes, May 14, 2020 board meeting (Internet Archive copy) — https://web.archive.org/web/20230511195049/https://www.ridgeville.org/s/May-2020-Ridgeville-Board-Meeting-Minutes.pdf
11. Ridgeville Park District — Approved minutes, July 9, 2020 board meeting (Internet Archive copy) — https://web.archive.org/web/20230511212300/https://www.ridgeville.org/s/July-2020-Ridgeville-Board-Meeting-Minutes.pdf
12. Evanston Now — Should Ridgeville merge into city park system? (Jun 11, 2020) — https://evanstonnow.com/should-ridgeville-merge-into-city-park-system/
13. Ridgeville Park District — Approved minutes, July 8, 2021 board meeting (Internet Archive copy) — https://web.archive.org/web/20230511194503/https://www.ridgeville.org/s/July-2021-Ridgeville-Board-Meeting-Minutes.pdf
14. Ridgeville Park District — Approved minutes, Dec. 10, 2020 board meeting (Internet Archive copy) — https://web.archive.org/web/20230511193129/https://www.ridgeville.org/s/December-2020-Ridgeville-Board-Meeting-Minutes.pdf
15. Cook County Clerk — Recordings for PIN 11-19-310-012-0000, document 2520221008 (recorded Jul 21, 2025) — https://crs.cookcountyclerkil.gov/Search/ResultByPin?id1=11193100120000
16. Chicago Board of Education — Resolution 15-1216-RS8, dismissal of Dan Coyne (Dec 16, 2015) — https://www.cpsboe.org/content/actions/2015_12/15-1216-RS8.pdf
17. Chicago Board of Education — Proceedings, including Board Report 10-1027-EX21 rescinding warning resolution (Oct 27, 2010) — https://www.cpsboe.org/content/documents/oct27_2010proceedings.pdf
18. Chicago Board of Education — Proceedings, including Board Report 14-0625-EX17 (Jun 25, 2014) — https://www.cpsboe.org/content/documents/june25_2014proceedings.pdf
19. Chicago Sun-Times — CPS fires social worker who donated kidney to stranger (Dec 22, 2015) — https://chicago.suntimes.com/2015/12/22/18575978/cps-fires-social-worker-who-donated-kidney-to-stranger
20. Evanston Now — Official seeks to punish another for criticizing him (Nov 11, 2019) — https://evanstonnow.com/official-seeks-to-punish-another-for-criticizing-him/
21. Evanston RoundTable — Ethics Board Finds No Violation by Alderman, Sets September Date for Hearing Complaint by Clerk Against Mayor (Aug 8, 2020) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2020/08/08/ethics-board-finds-no-violation-by-alderman-sets-september-date-for-hearing-complaint-by-clerk-against-mayor/
22. Evanston Now — Ethics board dismisses Coyne complaint against Rainey (Aug 10, 2020) — https://evanstonnow.com/ethics-board-dismisses-coyne-complaint-against-rainey/
23. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — License lookup data, license 150008802 (accessed Oct 6, 2026) — https://data.illinois.gov/resource/pzzh-kp68.json?license_number=150008802
24. Evanston/Skokie School District 65 — Board of Education special meeting agenda and minutes (Jan 10, 2017) — https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1247?meeting=199600
25. Evanston RoundTable — Council panel votes to consider easing gambling law, allow video machines (May 4, 2023) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/05/04/evanston-gambling-ordinance-video-gaming/
26. Evanston/Skokie School District 65 — Board memo, Care for Learners Pilot (Aug 7, 2025) — https://meetings.boardbook.org/Documents/DownloadPDF/6407019?org=1247
27. Evanston RoundTable — District 65 to ban electronic devices during school day (Aug 18, 2025) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2025/08/18/evanston-skokie-district-65-device-policy/
28. The Daily Northwestern — Rapid Recap: City Council passes Envision Evanston (Jan 28, 2026) — https://dailynorthwestern.com/2026/01/28/lateststories/rapid-recap-city-council-votes-to-pass-envision-evanston/
29. Evanston RoundTable — Retired District 65 social worker Dan Coyne is running for school board (Sep 17, 2026) — https://evanstonroundtable.com/2026/09/17/retired-district-65-social-worker-dan-coyne-is-running-for-school-board/