Free and Equal asks, Rigged Election in Illinois, Again?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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.”
Free & Equal, Inc., Creates Harmony Across Party Lines In Illinois Challenge Process
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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.
Free & Equal, Inc. defending candidate’s rights across political divide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: 312-320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
Free & Equal, Inc. defending candidate’s rights across political divide
Tuesday, Nov. 17 — Free & Equal, Inc. announced today that it will defend Democratic gubernatorial candidate William “Dock” Walls’ right to be on the Illinois election ballots in 2010.
Walls joins Republican state House candidates Deb Leticia Gordils (District 11), Phil Collins (District 17), and Anita Forte-Scott (District 56), who have also employed Free & Equal’s help in defending their nominating petitions against attempts to knock them off the 2010 ballot.
An attempt has been made to invalidate nearly 90 percent of Walls petition signatures, by friends of his incumbent challenger, Gov. Pat “The Reformer” Quinn. A Nov. 12 article in the Chicago Tribune states that Quinn admitted that supports of his may be behind an effort to knock Walls off the ballot, only a day after he claimed not to know whether his campaign was involved.
The full Chicago Tribune article can be found here.
The article notes, “The ballot challenge represents an about-face for Quinn, who in 1996 chastised then-U.S. Rep. Dick Durbin for challenging the petitions of another candidate in their race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.”
“Quinn’s people used a shotgun approach to try to invalidate Walls’ signatures, meaning they tried to invalidate a large number of signatures with no legal justification,” Free & Equal Chief Executive Officer Christina Tobin said. “The man who was supposed to break Illinois’ chain of bad governors and be a reformer has now stooped to wasting taxpayer resources for a strictly political end.”
The petition requirement to run for Governor in Illinois is 5,000 signatures of registered voters. Walls submitted over 9,900 signatures.
Walls said, “It is irresponsible for Pat Quinn to challenge our valid petition signatures and try to deny the people of Illinois a choice on election day. Quinn’s reckless disregard for the established procedures which require due diligence in the challenge process shows he is willing to put winning above the democratic process.”
Free & Equal will appear at 10 a.m. today before the State Board of Elections to help defend Wall and Forte-Scott’s nominating petitions. The hearing for Collins, meanwhile, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Cook County Board of Elections at 69 West Washington St. in Chicago.
Gordils’ line-by-line binder check is scheduled for 1 p.m., Wednesday, November 18, on the 6th floor of the Chicago Board of Elections at 69 West Washington St.
To run for state House in Illinois, candidates must collect 500 signatures of registered voters. Gordils and Collins submitted over 600 signatures each, while Forte-Scott submitted over 900.
Attempts to challenge the petitions for each of these candidates can allegedly be linked to Kevin Artl, who is the Chief of Staff for Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Artl, however, has denied that he has anything to do with the challenges.
Free & Equal is considering a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover Artl’s payroll for the petition-checkers used to challenge these candidates. This information will help determine if state and Republican Party employees were used to check these petitions.
If true, these efforts raise serious questions about the use of government employees in a campaign capacity.
Free and Equal, Inc. is headed by ballot-access crusader Christina Tobin. Tobin has helped secure ballot lines for numerous independent candidates and alternative political parties, including the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican and Socialist Equality parties. As Ralph Nader’s National Ballot Access Coordinator in 2008, she helped collect more than 500,000 signatures to put Nader on 45 state presidential ballots and the District of Columbia, more than any other third party or independent candidate.
In 2004, Tobin sued Democratic Party State Chair Michael Madigan for allegedly using full-time state employees to knock Ralph Nader off of the presidential ballot. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted for the payroll in question. The FOIA request was denied in court because it was “confidential information.” A complaint filed by Ralph Nader was submitted to attorney general Lisa Madigan, daughter of Michael Madigan. As of yet, five years later, no action on the complaint has been taken.
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.
FREE AND EQUAL, INC. SPECIALIZES IN DEFENDING NOMINATING PETITIONS AGAINST CHALLENGES.
TOBIN AND THE STAFF OF FREE AND EQUAL, INC ARE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY TO DEFEND SIGNATURES IN ILLINOIS.
Free and Equal, Inc., Appearing at Board of Elections Hearings to Defend Candidate Petitions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: 312-320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
Website: https://www.freeandequalinc.com/
Free and Equal, Inc., Appearing at Board of Elections Hearings to Defend Candidate Petitions
Free and Equal, Inc. will file a Freedom of Information Act request today as part of its effort to defend the right of three candidates to be on the Illinois ballot in 2010.
State House candidates Deb Leticia Gordils (District 11), Phil Collins (District 17), and Anita Forte-Scott (District 56), will be going before state and local election officials to defend the validity of the nominating petitions they circulated to get their names on the state election ballot.
A hearing for Gordils will be held at 1 p.m. today before the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners at 69 West Washington St. in the lower level conference room.
Forte-Scott, meanwhile, is slated to state her case before the State Officers Electoral Board at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 17 in the Thompson Center, 100 W Randolph St. in room 9-040. There will be a video connection with the State Board office at 1020 S. Spring St. in Springfield.
The hearing for Collins is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cook County Board of Elections at 69 West Washington St. in Chicago.
To run for State House in Illinois, candidates must collect 500 signatures of registered voters. Gordils and Collins submitted over 600 signatures each, while Forte-Scott submitted over 900.
Attempts to challenge the petitions for each of these candidates can allegedly be linked to Kevin Artl, who is the 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.
The Freedom of Information Act request by Free and Equal will seek to uncover Artl’s payroll for the petition-checkers used to challenge these candidates. This information will help determine if state and Republican Party employees were used to check these petitions.
If true, these efforts raise serious questions about the use of government employees in a campaign capacity.
“The only reason the current Illinois GOP power base would pay money to selectively copy petitions of these principled, conservative candidates is to see if they could knock these honorable people off the ballot,” said Jim Edwards, Executive Director of the Republican Renaissance PAC, which hired Free and Equal to help defend Gordils and Forte-Scott.
“The voters of Illinois deserve the chance to vote for whomever they please,” said Tobin. “It is essential to the health of our democracy that the selection of elected representatives take place at the ballot box and not in the halls of a boards of elections riddled with corruption. We look forward to defending the signatures of these candidates, and anticipate seeing them on the primary ballot.”
Free and Equal, Inc. is headed by ballot-access crusader Christina Tobin. Tobin has helped secure ballot lines for numerous independent candidates and alternative political parties, including the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican and Socialist Equality parties. As Ralph Nader’s National Ballot Access Coordinator in 2008, she helped collect more than 500,000 signatures to put Nader on 45 state presidential ballots and the District of Columbia, more than any other third party or independent candidate.
In 2004, Tobin sued Democratic Party State Chair Michael Madigan for allegedly using full-time state employees to knock Ralph Nader off of the presidential ballot. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted for the payroll in question. The FOIA request was denied in court because it was “confidential information.” A complaint filed by Ralph Nader was submitted to attorney general Lisa Madigan, daughter of Michael Madigan. As of yet, five years later, no action on the complaint has been taken.
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.
FREE AND EQUAL, INC. SPECIALIZES IN DEFENDING NOMINATING PETITIONS AGAINST CHALLENGES.
TOBIN AND THE STAFF OF FREE AND EQUAL, INC ARE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY TO DEFEND SIGNATURES IN ILLINOIS.
FREE & EQUAL, INC TO DEFEND NOMINATING PETITIONS IN ILLINOIS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: (312) 320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
FREE & EQUAL, INC TO DEFEND NOMINATING PETITIONS IN ILLINOIS
Free & Equal, Inc. announced today that they will be defending the nominating petitions of at least two candidates in Illinois.
Debra Leticia Gordils is running in the Republican primary for the 11th State House district. Gordils submitted well over 600 signatures.
Anita Forte-Scott is running in the Republican primary for the 56th State House district. Forte-Scott submitted over 900 signatures; 600 of them collected by herself, with the rest collected by volunteers. All were collected by going door-to-door with voter rolls.
Republican Renaissance PAC has hired Free and Equal to defend the signatures from Gordils and Scott. The requirement for both candidates is 500 valid signatures each.
“The voters of Illinois deserve the chance to vote for whomever they please,” said Free & Equal, Inc. CEO Christina Tobin.
“It is essential to the health of our democracy that the selection of elected representatives take place at the ballot box and not in the halls of a Board of Elections riddled with corruption. We look forward to defending the signatures of these candidates, and anticipate seeing them on the primary ballot.”
Earlier this week, an army of petition checkers descended upon boards of elections across the state, seeking to limit voter choice in the 2010 elections by invalidating signatures collected by candidates.
Operating under a veil of secrecy, the petition checkers at the Chicago Board of Elections were quite standoffish when quizzed recently by an ABC7 Chicago reporter. Few were willing to give their names or the names of their employers.
The original ABC7 report can be found at http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=7105170.
After he was pressed by the reporter, one man did in fact identify his employer as Cook County Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown.
Also according to ABC7 Chicago, a veritable army of workers alleged to be employed by State Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan were on hand to scour over petitions looking for the minutest mistakes possible when the reporter from ABC7 Chicago was present at the Board of Elections. Those who were interviewed refused to give their names or employers.
This raises significant questions about the use of government employees in campaign capacities.
Such activity is blatantly illegal.
Intrigue also surrounds the challenges of candidates Gordils and Scott.
Copies of both petitions were requested by Kevin Artl, a former Political Director for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential campaign.
Artl is the Chief of Staff for Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
Artl has denied that Cross has anything to do with the challenges.
Still, questions about the use of government employees in campaign capacities remain.
“The only reason the current Illinois GOP power base would pay money to selectively copy petitions of the principled, conservative candidates is to see if they could knock these honorable people off the ballot,” said Jim Edwards, Executive Director of the Republican Renaissance PAC.
“This unethical behavior is one of the many reasons why the Republican Renaissance PAC of Illinois is rapidly attracting attention to its mission of ethics, accountability and integrity,” said Edwards.
Free & Equal, Inc. is headed by ballot access crusader Christina M. Tobin. Tobin has helped secure ballot lines for numerous independent candidates and alternative political parties including the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican and Socialist Equality parties. As Ralph Nader’s National Ballot Access Coordinator in 2008, she helped collect more than 500,000 signatures to put Nader on 45 state Presidential ballots and the District of Columbia, more than any other third party or independent candidate.
In 2004, Tobin sued Democratic Party State Chair Michael Madigan for allegedly using full-time state employees to knock Ralph Nader off of the Presidential ballot. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted for the payroll in question. The FOIA request was denied in court because it was “confidential information.” A complaint filed by Ralph Nader was submitted to attorney general Lisa Madigan, daughter of Michael Madigan. As of yet, five years later, no action on the complaint has been taken.
Free & Equal, Inc. is a full-service ballot access consulting and petitioning firm. Free & Equal, Inc. is a non-partisan firm that works with candidates from across the political spectrum. Free & Equal, Inc. does not endorse any candidates for office.
FREE & EQUAL, INC. SPECIALIZES IN DEFENDING NOMINATING PETITIONS AGAINST CHALLENGES.
TOBIN AND THE STAFF OF FREE & EQUAL, INC ARE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY TO DEFEND SIGNATURES IN ILLINOIS
####
Free & Equal, Inc. is a full-service ballot access consulting and petitioning firm specializing in ballot access for independent and third party candidates.
