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 14 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:

YES – Adam Andrzejewski, Republican, Governor

YES – Dan Proft, Republican, Governor

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: 9 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.