From a news release:

Petelle Announces for District 150 School Board

Peoria – Laura Petelle formally announced her candidacy for the District 3 seat on the District 150 School Board today.

“As a professor at Illinois Central College, I get District 150 students in my classroom all the time,” Petelle said. “We have great students. They deserve a great school district. District 150 should be a first choice, not a last resort.”

Laura Petelle, 30, works as an attorney in private practice in Peoria and as an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Illinois Central College, teaching classes including philosophy and ethics.

“The school board term is five years. My baby will start kindergarten in five years. I’m very motivated to improve the District in that time,” Petelle said.

Petelle graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana (BA, 2000); she then went to Duke University in North Carolina where she earned a law degree (JD, 2004) and a Masters in Theological Studies (MTS, 2004). She is a member of the Junior League of Peoria, where she volunteers on the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum committee. Petelle serves on the community board of the University of Illinois Extension – Peoria County. She is married to Garth Madison, a litigator with Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP; they are expecting their first child in late May. Petelle and Madison are members of the Biltmore Heights Neighborhood Association and of St. Philomena’s.

The District 3 seat is currently held by Mary Spangler, who will not be running. District 3 encompasses most of the city of Peoria north of Forest Hill Avenue. The election will be April 7, 2009.

Petelle also writes a local blog under the name Eyebrows McGee.