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Shorewood electoral board tosses out objection to incumbent candidate


Officials agreed that the name of Daniel Warren will remain on the ballot in the wake of an objection filed by village board candidate Lona Jakaitis because his petitions were unbound.

Warren is one of four candidates looking to garner support as the village board looks to fill three open trustee positions.

Warren is attempting to retain his bid for election to the board. He ran successfully for a trustee position in 2013.

The deadline to file petitions was Dec. 19.

The seats are now filled by Daniel Anderson, Edmund Murphy and Daniel Warren. Two incumbents filed petitions to seek re-election. Also filing petitions to challenge the incumbents were Lona Jakaitis and Clarence DeBold. Trustee Edmund Murphy is not looking to run in 2017.

Jakaitis, who serves as a member of the Louis Joliet Daughters of American Revolution, filed an objection to Warren’s petitions.

The electoral board, however, tossed out the objection to Warren’s petitions and his name will remain on the ballot.

Attorney Dennis Reboletti spoke on behalf of Jakaitis during the public hearing. In testimony provided before the electoral board, he indicated that Warren failed to bind his petitions properly. He stressed that Jakaitis adheres directly, not strictly in accordance with language presented in state law and village codes.

In response to Jakaitis’ argument, Warren sought to strike the objection. His attorney, Laura Jacksack, countered that they do not believe the motion meets the requirements outlined under Illinois law because candidates possess a substantial right for a place on the ballot. Additionally, she argued that Jakaitis’ motion is invalid for failing to state her interest in objecting.

Though state law requires that nomination petitions be bound together when filed with the county clerk of the county, in which the village is located, the electoral board determined that Warren “substantially complied” with state election code and ethics when filing.

To this, Warren said he was pleased with the ruling of the electoral board.

“I’m extremely happy with the results,” he said. “I think it was a petty thing to bring up. There was no fraud. It was kind of an ethical issue.”

The hearing’s outcome fell short of expectation for Jakaitis, Reboletti said.

“We thought we put a vey solid case forward to outline why the candidate should be excluded from the ballot,” he said. “Jakaitis agrees that obviously the sanctity of access to the ballot should be respected. However, we disagree with the ruling. Warren filed faulty petitions, and I will be reviewing with my client options for appeal and that will be reviewed by the court in Will County.”

The electoral board was comprised of Shorewood Mayor Rick Chapman, village clerk Tracy Ragusa and trustee Barbara “Cookie” Kirkland.

Candidate action to submit an appeal of the ruling must be submitted to the county by Jan. 26.

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