Filing errors knock Kane clerk off congressional ballot
By Matt Hanley mhanley@stmedianetwork.com February 3, 2012 7:42PM
Jack Cunningham
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Updated: April 3, 2012 10:15AM
Longtime U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert will be the lone Republican in the 11th Congressional District primary, after the State Board of Elections removed her two opponents from the ballot.
The Board of Elections on Thursday upheld challenges to the candidacies of Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham and former Joliet mayoral candidate Diane Harris over problems with addresses on their petitions.
The decision was especially stinging for Cunningham, who — as clerk — is in charge of the county’s elections.
“I’m an elected official and if we did it wrong, we don’t belong on the ballot,” Cunningham said Thursday. “It over, and it’s time to move on.”
The problem with Cunningham’s petitions centered on a worker who incorrectly recorded his address on the petition sheets, officials said.
Cunningham said in the past he and his supporters have gathered the signatures he needed. But preparing for the upcoming elections and the illness of his chief deputy clerk, Jay Bennett (who died in January), spurred Cunningham to hire a firm to gather signatures on his election petitions. Cunningham admitted the process got away from him with an outside company involved.
He said he was disappointed but won’t challenge the board’s decision in court.
“I was enjoying talking about the national issues,” said Cunningham, who ran for Congress in 1972. “I waited 40 years for a district without an incumbent, so I think I can wait two more (years).”
Harris was removed over problems with addresses that were incorrect or not in the district. Harris did not return calls for comment.
The board unanimously rejected challenges to Biggert’s petitions.
Biggert will face the winner of the Democratic primary among Jim Hickey, Bill Foster and Juan Thomas.
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