Chicago Board of Elections Ignores Due Process and Common Sense

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christina Tobin

Phone: 312-320-4101

Website: https://www.freeandequalinc.com/

Chicago Board of Elections Ignores Due Process and Common Sense

Apparently, a hearing was held by the Chicago Board of Elections last Wednesday, December 8, at which the Board ruled Deb Leticia Gordils off the ballot in the Republican Primary for State House, District 11.

However, no one showed up to argue either side of the case because the Board failed to notify the counsel for either Gordils or her objectors. Gordils is represented by Andrew Spiegel with Free and Equal, Inc. Her objectors are represented by John Fogarty and backed by the House Republican machine headed by Tom Cross and run by Kevin Artl.

Furthermore, apparently no record nor any minutes of this phantom hearing exist, according to Gordils.

Spiegel only learned of the hearing by receiving the ruling in the mail several days later. According to Spiegel, Fogarty has yet to receive anything pertaining to the Gordils case.

Without anyone to oppose them, the Board did not hear evidence that the objectors’ filings were fatally flawed. Each page of the appendix to the objection, which lists the signatures that were challenged, only bore the name of Gordils’ opponent, Scott Tucker. While it is clear that Tucker is directly involved in using the corrupt objection process to eliminate the voters from the election, he is not a party to the case.

Spiegel said that should be a fatal flaw to the validity of the objection. “This is just another example of the Kafkaesque nature of the objection process,” said Spiegel. “The Board decided to follow its own whims instead of considering the law, the facts or even common sense.”

To regain her place on the primary ballot, Gordils’ next step would be to file a petition for judicial review with the Circuit Court of Cook County. Without a positive ruling there, Tucker will be the only government approved candidate of the Republican Primary ballot in that race.

The Chicago Board of Elections is not alone in abandoning any pretense of fairness or due process. On Thursday, December 9, the Illinois State Board of Elections voted 4-4 purely along party lines in the matter of objections to the petitions of another Republican House candidate, Anita Forte-Scott in District 56.

Fortunately for Forte-Scott, ties go to the candidate, so Forte-Scott will be on the ballot barring any appeal in court by the attorney for her objectors, John Countryman. Countryman is a former member of the State Board of Elections and is working closely with Artl.

In an article in suburban Chicago’s Daily Herald, Artl continued to claim that Forte-Scott’s petitions were fraudulent because four pages of signatures were collected on forms from the previous election, when Forte-Scott enjoyed the backing of the Cross machine. Two weeks ago, Artl flatly denied having anything to do with the objections to Forte-Scott.

However, Spiegel said it was clear that only those forms were old, not the signatures themselves. All signatures were collected during the proper time frame for next year’s election, according to Spiegel.

Christina Tobin, Chief Executive for Free and Equal, Inc., said, “While we are happy that Forte-Scott defeated the false objections to her signatures, it’s obvious that none of the evidence mattered to the State Board of Elections. Their only consideration was their partisan desires. The will of the voters and the facts of her case had absolutely nothing to do with their decision.”

Tobin suggested an easy and sensible alternative. She said, “Over two-thirds of the states only require a filing fee to run for office, which is a far more sensible and fair method of ballot access.”

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Topics: Illinois