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Three hearing officers appointed to the Northfield Township Electoral Board verbally dismissed complaints Tuesday (Jan. 14) challenging the validity of the Northfield Township Democratic Caucus and its slate of candidates running in the April 1 election.

The board is expected to issue its written ruling at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22 after which Northfield Township attorney Ross Secler said the objectors would have five days to appeal the decision in court.

Northfield Township Republican Committeeman TJ Brown said this week he does not know if the objectors intend to file an appeal in court, saying they would want to see the written decision first.

“I am pleased, but not surprised, by the unanimous dismissal of Republican objectors’ complaints based on a proper application of the law and good public policy,” Northfield Township Democratic Committee Person Tracy Katz Muhl told the Journal & Topics. Katz Muhl, who is also 57th District state representative, was named in the complaints as the chief officer presiding over the Dec. 3 Democrats’ caucus when the party’s candidates were chosen.

Because the eight objections filed were so similar, electoral board members took one complaint, which included elements of all eight, to issue their ruling.

Those filing the eight objections with the electoral board were former Northfield Township trustee Brendan Appel, former Northbrook village president Eugene Marks, and Northbrook residents Laurie Shults and Nicholas Anthony Sarros, Jr.

The challenges claim candidates and organizers convening the Northfield Democratic Party Caucus — Katz Muhl and caucus Secretary Janet Spector Bishop — were part of more than one political party in the same election cycle because they signed Unite Glenview and Northbrook Caucus 2025 municipal party petitions before the caucus event, making them part of more than one political party — something part of the Illinois Township Code directs against.

The complaints also say individual slated candidates signed and circulated petitions for candidates running with the Unite Glenview and Northbrook Caucus 2025 parties — in violation of the township code, allegedly as members of more than one party.

The Illinois Township Code includes language saying, “A participant shall not sign a petition of nomination for an independent or new political party candidate for the same election,” within the prior 12 months.

Secler, who is working with appointed electoral board members to draft the written opinion, said it is unclear whether “the same election” refers to the same election cycle, or the same specific election race.

Secler also said Illinois Township Code has no detailed penalty if someone violates that section of the law.

Another consideration of the electoral board was to not change the will of the voters attending the caucus based on something they had no control over when there was no allegation of fraud.

Key to the case was a change in election law last year that moved up the municipal election nominating petition filing period to before the Dec. 3 date (designated in law) when party caucuses need to be held. Before the change, it’s believed about 24 months would have passed before those attending the Dec. 3 caucus would have signed petitions for municipal party candidates.

Another issue at play is the fact that once a new party becomes an established party, which would occur at the second election under the same party name, those parties would be required under law to hold primary elections. Municipal candidates running for posts such as alderman, trustee, mayor or village president, may run on a party slate with the party name published on a ballot. Candidates for other local offices such as library district trustee or park board commissioner do not have any party affiliation published on the ballot, only their names.

Candidates running in suburban municipal elections, not wanting to undergo the time and expense of a primary and a general election, typically establish a new party with a new name every election cycle, eliminating the requirement for a primary. 

Brown said he is seeing Democratic partisanship creep into municipal elections, which concerns him, since municipal government is viewed as something that should be non-partisan.

Additionally, Glenview resident Glenn Farkas brought a complaint to the Illinois State Board of Elections that Democratic Northfield Township Highway Commissioner Mike Korman formed a political action committee, which state records show was formed in April 2021 and self-funded with $100, which Korman confirmed he either did not file, or filed late, six quarterly campaign disclosure reports as required, for which he could face $6,200 in state fines.

The PAC includes Korman’s name, which Brown says makes the PAC a candidate campaign committee rather than a PAC.

“The remedy is to reclassify as a candidate committee and place Korman on the ballot forfeiture list until he has paid all his delinquent fines,” Brown said.

Korman acknowledged the error and said he would pay the fine, if required, after a hearing that has yet to be scheduled. He said after he was not chosen by Glenview District 34 Caucus to serve another term on the school board in late 2022 for the spring 2023 election, and after watching the events of Jan. 6, 2021, he formed the PAC, but “never did anything with it.” He said he took no donations and spent no funds. The PAC was recently closed with the same $100 of which it started. 

Korman said he received notice from Farkas of the complaint, but as of Wednesday, Jan. 15, still had not been served by the state board of elections.

The three appointed members of the electoral board, attorney and Chairman Thomas Jaconetty, retired judge James Carroll, and attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, were appointed by Tim Evans, chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, after elected township officials named in the complaints, who would otherwise make up the electoral board, recused themselves.

If the electoral board had ruled for the objectors, or if the objectors were successful in a court appeal to the board’s ruling, the Democratic slate could be removed from the ballot.

 

Who’s Running For Northfield Township

 

Democratic Party Slate

(All are incumbents except Korman)

 

Shiva Mohsenzadeh – supervisor

Caryn Fliegler – clerk

Alida Nally – assessor

Mike Korman – highway commissioner

Scott Ottenheimer – trustee

Vincent Pace – trustee

Daniel Schack – trustee

Kate Spears – trustee

 

Republican Party Slate 

(All are challengers except incumbent Rueckert; there is no slated candidate for assessor) 

 

Daniel Behr – supervisor

Phyllis Lynch – clerk

Tim Rueckert – highway commissioner

Diana Blumin – trustee

Michael Lynch – trustee

Kari Grapsas – trustee

George Stutz – trustee

The post Challenges Against Northfield Township Democratic Slate, Caucus Process Dismissed first appeared on Journal & Topics Media Group.

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January 16, 2025 at 01:27PM