Will County Judge Ben Braun dismissed an appeal filed on behalf of eight Homer Glen trustee candidates who were removed from the ballot because the paperwork was not filed in compliance with Illinois Election Code.
Attorney Alan Bruggeman filed a petition for judicial review with the Will County Circuit Court on behalf of potential candidates Cesar Marin, Ethan Fialko, Jennifer Trzos-Consolino, John Walters, Theresa “Tammy” Hayes, James Roti, Heidi “Hadley” Pacella and Daniel Gutierrez.
The Homer Glen Electoral Board in November and December removed each of the candidates from the ballot after a series of hearings. Because 17 candidates initially filed to run for three trustee spots, there would have been a primary in February before the April 1 election.
After a failed appeal process and because there are fewer than 13 candidates, there will not be a primary for the Homer Glen municipal election.
The action leaves nine candidates running for three trustee positions April 1: John Hayes, Kevin Koukol, Michael LePore, Nicholas S. Muller, Richard J. Modelski, Rose Reynders, Katie Surges, Kyle Surges and Ruben L. Pazmino,
Pericles Abbasi, the attorney to Craig Carlson who objected to 14 candidate petitions, and Michael Carroll, the attorney for the Homer Glen Electoral Board, said the appeal was dismissed because it didn’t list the correct information and the parties weren’t properly served notice via certified mail.
The appeal didn’t list the Electoral Board or Carlson as the objector, the attorneys said. Certified mail was also not sent to Carlson.
Carlson filed objections because he believed there was an organized group of candidates trying to make a mockery of the system. He said candidates who filed for office did not live in Homer Glen or used a business address on their petitions. Four candidates filed for both Homer Glen trustee and a school board race, which are considered incompatible offices.
Carlson also objected to their papers because he saw many people signed four or more candidates’ nominating petitions, which is in violation of election code that says voters are only allowed to sign as many petitions as there are seats available.
Carlson said this week he thought the process went as it was supposed to as dictated by Illinois statutes, and that the Electoral Board “did a fair and equitable review of the facts.”
“I think there was a concerted effort on this group to create chaos,” Carlson said. “I think the community is well-served to not go through a primary, which was unnecessary. The community can make their decision on April 1.”
Carroll, who advised the Electoral Board, said the board made decisions “in line with the law.”
Bruggeman also asked the Will County clerk’s office to stay the printing of the ballots, which was deemed moot, Carroll said.
Bruggeman did not return two phone calls this week for comment.
His petition said the opinion of the Electoral Board was issued in error and the candidates that were removed from the ballot should be reversed. The petition states that the chair of the Electoral Board, Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike, be removed and her votes not counted because she had publicly endorsed candidates for Homer Glen trustee on social media.
Walters, one of the candidates knocked off the ballot, said he felt the county court would have overturned the Electoral Board’s decisions if a judge were allowed to hear the case. He said the candidates believed they were not going to win at the Electoral Board hearings because of “political games.”
“The process with the village of Homer Glen was a joke,” Walters said. “I think it was an easy slam dunk to overturn.”
Walters said he was frustrated that the paperwork filed with the court was improperly handled and believed residents lost out on their chance to choose the best of 17 candidates.
Marin and Fialko were removed from the ballot due to residency issues. The Electoral Board ruled Marin listed on his nominating petitions a home he once shared with his girlfriend, but no longer lived there, while Fialko listed his address as the UPS Store which he uses for business.
Pacella was removed for using an improper nickname, “Hadley,” in her papers, which the board ruled drew attention to her preservation efforts on a proposed Hadley Road construction project.
Gutierrez was removed from the ballot after duplicate signatures were stricken, leaving him with fewer than the required number. Gutierrez did not appear at the Electoral Board hearings.
The four candidates who were removed for also filing to run for school board include Trzos-Consolino, who filed to run for Homer Elementary District 33C; Walters, who filed to run for Will County Elementary District 92 and Hayes and Roti, who filed to run for Lockport Township High School District 205.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.