“…he’s also headed straight into the buzz saw of Illinois’ daunting petition process to get on the ballot, a process that routinely turns well-organized men and women into political wood chips.”

Now these “well-organized men and women” have Free & Equal to turn to for steel reinforcements against the political buzz saws aimed against competition on the ballots. Free & Equal has left many dulled and broken saw blades behind and we can do it for your candidacy.

Another recent article from Chicago highlights why candidates should call Free & Equal as soon as they consider a run for office. From Ben Joravsky at the Chicago Reader:

“(Joe) Berrios, who’s also chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, has always been quick to use the fine points of election law and a stable of experts to chase off hapless challengers. In February’s Democratic primary, for instance, he successfully removed one opponent by challenging his petitions and scared another into withdrawing simply by letting her know he intended to challenge hers.”

Scared into withdrawing because of the threat of a petition challenge? Call Free & Equal first.

Illinois requires all candidates running for statewide office to collect signatures to get on the ballot in primary elections; meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of the states require only a filing fee in such instances.

“Replacing signature requirements and the unfair challenge system with uniform filing fees is the only way to institute free and equal elections in Illinois, while saving taxpayers between $5 and $10 million a year,” Christina Tobin said, Free & Equal founder and chief executive. At a time when the state’s budget deficit is hitting record highs, ideas like this should be considered carefully.

The state’s rigged signature-objection procedure makes a mockery of the notion that Illinois holds free and fair elections. It’s also an insensible misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars that go towards legal fees, court costs, employee salaries and more.

Many past and present Illinois politicians, including House Speaker Michael Madigan and minority leader Tom Cross, have used the state’s open signature-challenge procedure and public funds to knock legitimate candidates off the state’s election ballots, thereby limiting the choices for voters. These shameful political tactics were highlighted in a recent investigation by FOX Chicago News, and by Free & Equal Founder Christina Tobin in a recent FOX Chicago Sunday interview.

“This isn’t some repressive, extreme regime; This is the United States,” Tobin said. “The American people expect their country to be the example of freedom and fairness for the rest of the world.”

Visit freeandequal.org to see a list of states that require only a filing fee for primary ballot access in statewide elections.

Chicago, Illinois — Free & Equal, Inc. has successfully helped at least seven candidates overcome Illinois’ senseless ballot-access system to retain their spot on the 2010 primary election ballot.

“While the establishment political machine in Illinois continues to use taxpayer dollars to take election-day choices away from voters, we at Free & Equal will continue trying to protect those choices for the people,” Christina Tobin, Free & Equal founder and chief executive, said.

Free & Equal provided the services of attorney Andrew Spiegel, along with research, inter-candidate dialogue and media outreach in assisting 12 candidates to overcome challenges to their right to be on Illinois’ election ballots. Here are the results of these efforts:

Ballot access in the 2010 primary for Free & Equal-represented candidates:

NO – Deb Leticia Gordils, Republican, State House, District 17

NO – Phil Collins, Republican, State House, District 17

YES – Anita Forte-Scott, Republican, State House, District 56

YES – Rosanna Pulido, Republican, U.S. House, District 5

YES – David Ratowitz, Republican, U.S. House, District 5

WITHDRAWAL/RUNNING AS INDPT. – William “Dock” Walls, III, Democrat, Governor

YES – Dan Kairis, Green, U.S. House, District 14

YES – Bill Scheurer, Green, U.S. House, District 8

NO – Radusa Ostojic, Democrat, Judge in the 11th sub-circuit of Cook County

NO – Ed Scanlan, Democrat, Governor

YES – Kenneth Moy, Republican, 2nd Appellate Court, Callum Vacancy

YES – Bob McQuillan, Republican, State House, District 50

Total: 7 on the ballot, 4 not on the ballot, 1 withdrawal

A challenge to Ratowitz’s petition signatures was dropped at the eleventh hour as Free & Equal prepared to prove the frivolous nature of the objections.

Kairis and Scheurer successfully overcame attempts to knock them off the ballot by Democratic Party functionaries Michael Kreloff and House Speaker Michael Madigan. In Kairis’ case, they went so far as to accuse his family and friends of fraudulent signatures.

Anita Forte-Scott weathered a blatant case of conflict of interest in which former State Board of Elections member John Countryman worked on behalf of House Republican Leader Tom Cross to accuse her of fraud for mistakenly using an outdated form.

Forte-Scott, however, was lucky. She was one of the few that managed to take on opposition from powerful incumbents and win. Collins, Gordils, Scanlan and Walls, meanwhile, were not so lucky.

Collins fell 90 signatures short of the 500 he need to qualify for the ballot, but only after petition-checkers at the direction of Cross cherry-picked signatures that weren’t entirely written in cursive.

Gordils was knocked off the ballot after a hearing for which neither side’s lawyers were notified, and for which exist no official record or minutes, even though her opponent listed his own name in place of hers on his objection forms.

Walls was knocked off the ballot by operatives for Gov. Pat Quinn. “The Reformer,” as Quinn likes to be called, admitted to concerns that Walls – the only African-American running for governor – would siphon away his black voters. But Walls isn’t giving up. He has chosen to run as an Independent, but that means he has to collect 25,000 signatures to be on the ballot.  That’s five times as many signatures as is required of candidates of the Republican and Democratic establishment.

Ostojic lost her hearing after the Cook County Board of Elections gave her objector, Rodney McCulloch, as many chances as he needed to challenge her signatures.  McCulloch received this preferential treatment despite having previously been convicted of charges related to forging signatures on other petitions.  Sadly, Ostojic did not have the money to fight this unjust ruling in court.

The last victory came on Monday, when Bob McQuillan won in his court case brought by objector John Reeves. Apparently the judge disagreed with Reeves’ contention, as quoted in the suburban Chicago Daily Beacon, that, “I have earned the right to choose who will be the candidate in District 50.” At issue again were legitimate signatures made in print rather than cursive writing.

Free & Equal insists it is time to fix the broken process in Illinois for challenging a candidate’s right to be on the ballot. It is time to let the voters decide for themselves who is a worthy of votes.

“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,” Tobin said. “It is astonishing to me that my home state of Illinois continues to hold out in minority opposition to such a simple reform.”

Free and Equal, Inc. is a full-service, ballot-access consulting and petitioning firm. Free and Equal, Inc. is a nonpartisan firm that works with candidates from across the political spectrum. Free and Equal, Inc. does not endorse any candidates for office.

With the Illinois primaries now less than 35 days away, some candidates are still fighting to maintain their spot on the February ballot.  Illinois’ arcane and discriminatory ballot access laws are still being used to knock legitimate candidates off the ballot and keep power in the hands of a self-appointed political elite.

Bob McQuillan, a Republican running for State House in District 50, was placed on the ballot despite objections to his petition signatures.  Despite having won this battle, McQuillan now has to go to court to defend his ballot placement.

John Reeves, working on behalf of McQuillan’s primary opponent Keith Wheeler, is pressing the absurd claim that only signatures written in cursive can be counted as legitimate.  At issue are six voters who signed the petition by printing their name.  Whether or not they are real voters who were eligible to sign is not at issue.

Reeves has even been quoted as saying, “I have earned the right to choose who will be the candidate in District 50.”  More details on McQuillan’s struggle to offer himself in public service to the voters of his district can be found in a recent article in the Beacon-News.

This arrogance is typical of the self-styled Illinois power-brokers who believe the voters are a mere inconvenience on the path to solidifying their personal control of Illinois government.

A similar story is unfolding in the race for Judge in the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County.

Radusa Ostojic, a candidate in a crowded Democratic primary, faced two objections to her petitions.  She overcame one attacking the validity of her signatures.  However, her other objector Larry Kelly, working for self-appointed political operative Rodney McCulloch, made over 900 claims of fraud against her 669 total signatures in a scattershot attack which has been upheld by the Cook County Board of Elections.

The Board arbitrary gave Kelly and McCulloch an extension simply because they failed to appear for the review of Ostojic’s signatures by the hearing examiner, which initially found she had enough valid signatures.

Without notice to Ostojic, the Board reopened the signature review, which in this case found her to be 89 signatures short of the 500 required for ballot access.  By the end of the hearing on Christmas Eve, the Board had restored 75 of these signatures, but refused to give her a similar extension to rehabilitate any signatures.

McCulloch received special treatment from the Board of Elections despite having been convicted just last year of perjury and election fraud by falsifying signatures on a candidate’s petition.  According to Ostojic, “Even Chairperson [Daniel] Madden was shaking his head in disbelief that my signatures were objected often stating the signatures on my petition are exactly the same as on the voter registration card.”

Sadly, Ostojic has no money to go to court, and no time left to raise funds to continue the fight.  Ostojic said, “If the point of democracy is to give people the voice to choose a candidate, that opportunity and right has now been taken away.”

Christina Tobin, Founder and CEO of Free and Equal, Inc., which defended Ostojic’s signatures, readily agreed.  “This is just another example of how money rules in politics.  Legitimate candidates outside of the political establishment are forced to spend far too much just to get their names on the ballot.”

Tobin offered a simple alternative to the corrupt objection process.  “Illinois is only one of three states that uses this system,” said Tobin.  “Meanwhile, over two-thirds of the states simply require a filing fee to enter a party primary.”

Tobin concluded, “Requiring filing fees instead would generate extra revenue for the state, save time for elections officials, and most importantly, allow the voters and not the political elites to determine who will serve in public office.”

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.”

Free and Equal, Inc., Convinces Another Challenger to Drop Objections to Petitions in Illinois

Free and Equal, Inc., is proud to announce more success in convincing challengers drop their objections to candidates seeking placement on the Illinois ballot in 2010. By moving past these challenges, candidates are able to rise above the corruption inherent in the objection process and move on to participating in truly free and equal elections in Illinois.

On Wednesday, December 9, objections to the petitions submitted by David Ratowitz, a Republican running for U.S. House in the 5th District were dropped.

Ratowitz said, “I appreciate the hard work of Free and Equal in proving the frivolous nature of the objections against me and inducing the objectors to drop their challenge.”

Free and Equal Chief Executive Officer Christina Tobin explained that her organization uses both positive and negative motivation to clean up the process.

Tobin said, “These challenges would have failed because we are able to prove Ratowitz submitted enough valid signatures to be placed on the primary ballot. However, we are hoping that by withdrawing the objections before hearings are held by the State Board of Elections, the challengers are setting a positive example for others who attempt to use the objection process to take away the choices the voters deserve to see on their ballots.”

Illinois is among the very few states which allow people to use the challenge process to try to knock legitimate candidates off the ballot before the voters have their say. Free and Equal, Inc., has maintained that this system is inherently anti-democratic and remains an open invitation to corruption in denying the ability of voters to freely choose who will represent them at all levels of government.

Tobin 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. Until we can abolish this unusual and arcane challenge process which robs voters of their rightful choices, Free and Equal will be in the trenches, working within the system to defend the right of any citizen to fully participate in the electoral process, regardless of party.”

Free and Equal, Inc., is now assisting in the defense of 15 Illinois candidates facing objections to their campaign’s signatures, from all three ballot-qualified parties.

The most recent candidates who have hired Free and Equal, Inc., are Ed Scanlan, Democrat for Governor; Kenneth Moy, Republican for the Callum Vacancy on the 2nd Appellate Court; and, Bob McQuillan, Republican for State House, District 50.

Scanlan will have a hearing at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 7, on the 14th Floor of the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St. in Chicago. Several of Free and Equal’s client candidates from all across the political spectrum will be in attendance in support.

The current clients using Free and Equal to help defend against objections to their petitions are:

• Deb Leticia Gordils, Republican, State House, District 11
• Phil Collins, Republican, State House, District 17
• Anita Forte-Scott, Republican, State House, District 56
• Rosanna Pulido, Republican, U.S. House, District 5
• David Ratowitz, Republican, U.S. House, District 5
• William “Dock” Walls, III, Democrat, Governor
• Dan Kairis, Green, U.S. House, District 14
• Bill Scheurer, Green, U.S. House, District 8
• Radusa Ostojic, Democrat, Judge in the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County
• Ed Scanlan, Democrat, Governor
• Kenneth Moy, Republican, 2nd Appellate Court, Callum Vacancy
• Bob McQuillan, Republican, State House, District 50

Illinois Board of Elections Violates its Own Rules

When a political machine wants a candidate off the ballot in Illinois, the odds are heavily stacked against the candidate.  The process of objecting to a candidate’s petitions has only one purpose: to allow only machine-sanctioned candidates on the ballot.

Even when a candidate does everything right, plays by the rules and survives a challenge, the machine can simply change the rules on a whim.

This is happening in the case of William “Dock” Walls, III, a Democratic candidate for Governor.  Walls submitted almost 10,000 signatures from Illinois voters to gain ballot access.  The requirement is 5,000 valid signatures.

The political operatives connected to incumbent Governor Pat Quinn then went to work and claimed over half of the signatures Walls submitted were invalid.

Andrew Spiegel, an attorney with Free and Equal, Inc., challenged this claim.  In response, the Board unilaterally decided to recount all the official numbers, including the total number of signatures submitted by the Walls campaign.

In a letter to the Board, Spiegel noted, “Rules and Procedures adopted by the Board require that Official numbers not properly and specifically challenged by either party are considered to be valid.”

Spiegel also stated, “If the Board violates its Rules of Procedure in this one case, and arbitrarily recounts the total number sustained, this board must recount all official numbers for all current cases.”

When asked to comment, Spiegel said, “This Kafkaesque objection process in Illinois is reminiscent of the Guardian Council run by the Ayatollahs in Iran. Perhaps President Obama should consider sending troops to Illinois.”

Walls added, “The Board of Elections has a responsibility to provide a candidate with an accurate official tally.  They cannot legally review numbers on a whim.  That behavior is either incompetent or corrupt.  The Board of Elections is doing a great disservice to all the good people who signed our petitions.”

According to Christina Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of Free and Equal, Inc., even the newly revised numbers from the Board of Elections are inaccurate.

Depending on which rules the Board wants to follow, Walls either has 60 signatures more than he needs, or will be 127 signatures short.

The next hearing, at 2 p.m. Thursday on the 14th floor of the Thompson Center at 100 W. Randolph St. in Chicago, will put the Board of Elections to the test.  Do rules matter any more in Illinois, or can they just make up new rules whenever it suits their machine bosses?  The next hearing will answer this question.

###

Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: 312-320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
Website: https://www.freeandequalinc.com/

Rigged Elections in Illinois, Again?

Free and Equal, Inc., is assisting two Green Party candidates filing for U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2010. Dan Kairis, running in District 14, and Bill Scheurer, in District 8, have both been challenged by Democratic Party operatives closely connected with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Kairis’ signatures have been challenged by Jean Cattron of Elgin, who is retired from the Elgin Mental Health Center and a Democratic Committeeman in Kane County. Those of Scheurer have been challenged by Gregory Ferritto, and employee of the United States Postal Service. Cattron is represented by Michael Kasper, the General Counsel and Treasurer of the Illinois Democratic Party and former aide to Madigan. Ferritto is represented by another Democratic Party functionary, Michael Kreloff.

Both Cattron and Ferritto have been used before by Madigan to attempt to knock candidates opposed to his allies in the House off the ballot. Cattron challenged an opponent of party operative Hollie Kissane in 2005 in the Democratic primary for the 22nd Legislative District in 2005. Ferritto was the objector of record against Iain Abernathy, the Green Party candidate for U.S. House in District 8 in 2008. Ferritto is also challenging Jonathan Farnick, who wants to face incumbent Melissa Bean in the Democratic primary.

Kasper and Kreloff were also the attorneys who led the objections against Green Party candidate for Governor Rich Whitney in 2006, and several Third Party and Independent candidates in 2004, including Ralph Nader for President.

Speaking to the Daily Herald about the challenge to Kairis, Christina Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of Free and Equal, Inc., said, “This is literally an objection in bad faith. The voters deserve voices and choices. There’s no limit to how far these (party) leaders will go to ensure voice and choice stays off the ballot.”

The article quoted Kairis as saying every signature on his petitions is from either a friend, neighbor or direct relative. Cattron even challenged the validity of signatures belonging to both his son and his mother.

These challenges to Green Party candidates are especially frivolous, Tobin noted, because under Illinois law the party can simply place these candidates on their slate in convention if the challenges are successful.

“Michael Madigan is no different from Tom Cross,” said Tobin. “Both are party bosses who manipulate the system to protect the incumbents loyal to them from any opposition.”

Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: 312-320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
Website: https://www.freeandequalinc.com/

Free & Equal, Inc., Creates Harmony Across Party Lines In Illinois Challenge Process

Free and Equal, Inc., assisted one candidate in dropping objections before the Illinois Board of Elections on Wednesday. In another case involving Free and Equal clients, a prominent Democrat has volunteered to assist a Republican running for State House in defending the objections against her.

On Wednesday, Republican David Ratowitz, running for U.S. House in District 5, dropped his objections against primary opponents Rosanna Pulido and Ashvin Lad. Free and Equal also counts Pulido as a client.

Ratowitz said, “The expertise that Free and Equal has lent to my petition defense has been considerable. Their willingness and ability to alleviate some of the burden on my campaign in this proceeding is what has allowed me to withdraw my challenges to my opponents.”

Andrew Spiegal, an attorney for Free and Equal, said, “David is taking the high road while navigating this challenge process. Now we can concentrate solely on defending his placement on the Illinois ballot.”

Also on Wednesday, one Free and Equal client, William “Dock” Walls, III, a Democrat for Governor, assisted Republican Deb Leticia Gordils for State House in District 11 at her objection hearing yesterday.

Walls said, “I was pleased to be able to assist Deb Gordils in her effort to remain on the ballot. It is really unfair for the Board of Elections to require Deb to defend against a improper objection papers, which did not have her name on them. It is an honor to stand with Deb against a process that is obviously flawed.”

Attempts to challenge the petitions of both Gordils and Ratowitz can be linked to Kevin Artl, Chief of Staff for Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Artl, however, has denied that he has anything to do with the challenges.

“These challenges are aimed to ensure that only candidates who will help keep Cross in power can appear on the ballot,” said Christina Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of Free and Equal, Inc.

Walls faces a records examination as part of his defense against an objection filed by Janice Dortch, who has been connected with incumbent Pat Quinn. That hearing begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Thompson Center, at 100 W. Randolph St in Chicago, on the 14th floor.

In all, Free and Equal, Inc., now has nine clients from all three parties currently filing candidates for the 2010 elections. They are:

Deb Leticia Gordils, Republican for State House, District 11
Anita Forte-Scott, Republican for State House, District 56
Phil Collins, Republican for State House, District 17
David Ratowitz, Republican for U.S. House, District 5
Rosanna Pulido, Republican for US House, District 5 (objection withdrawn)
William “Dock” Walls, III, Democrat for Governor
Radusa Ostojic, Democrat for Judge in the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County
Daniel J Kairis, Green for U.S. House, District 14
Bill Schuerer, Green for U.S. House, District 8

Free and Equal, Inc. is a full-service, ballot-access consulting and petitioning firm. Free and Equal, Inc. is a nonpartisan firm that works with candidates from across the political spectrum. Free and Equal, Inc. does not endorse any candidates for office.