Four booted from Naperville council ballot after paperwork error

Four would-be candidates for Naperville City Council blamed misleading paperwork Wednesday for an election filing error that will prevent their names from appearing on the April ballot.

Each of the four candidates John Adair, Steve Chirico, Joe McElroy and John Krummen failed to submit a legally required statement of economic interest by the Nov. 22 filing deadline, city officials said.

But the candidates say they were only following instructions on a “candidate checklist” that listed a Dec. 20 deadline and was provided with their nominating packets.

“To be told I'm being bounced off the ballot is flabbergasting,” said McElroy, a business owner attempting his second run for city council. “This is a perfect example of why people don't trust government.”

City officials said election code requires candidates to file statements outlining any economic interest they might have related to the office they're seeking by the end of the filing period for that office.

Because the four would-be candidates did not file the statements by Nov. 22, the end of the nominating period for the Naperville City Council, their names will not be certified for placement on the ballot, officials said.

That will leave eight others incumbents Robert Fieseler, Richard Furstenau and Grant Wehrli and challengers Wayne Floegel, Ben Gross, Patricia Gustin, Charles Schneider and Tiffany Stephens to pursue the four available seats. All eight met the Nov. 22 deadline.

The four hopefuls who did not noted that the first item on a candidate checklist provided with each city council nominating packet referred to their statements of economic interest. The checklist indicated the statements must be turned in by the last day of filing and then referred to Dec. 20.

That's correct for the vast majority of elections in DuPage County, but not for city council candidates in municipalities that could have primaries, including Naperville, Aurora, Wheaton and Downers Grove. In those towns, the end of the filing period was actually Nov. 22.

Chirico, a business owner, said he filed his economic interest statement on Tuesday, thinking he was far ahead of the Dec. 20 deadline. It turned out he was wrong.

He said he contacted the city, where officials told him the misleading information was provided by the DuPage Election Commission. When he contacted the commission, officials there told him it was the city's responsibility to make sure the information was correct.

“There are fingers pointing in different directions,” he said, calling the situation the result of a “silly clerical error.”

“I'd like to get back on the ballot,” Chirico said, “but at this point I'm just trying to collect information about what my options are.”

Naperville City Clerk Pam LaFeber said all candidates received a letter “clearly stating” that their election materials, including the economic statement, were due Nov. 22. The checklist, she said, was a supplement provided by the election commission.

“If the candidates had any questions about the discrepancy, they could have called DuPage County for clarification,” she said. “The first day to pick up packets was Aug. 24. They've had a lot of time.”

Krummen, a mechanical engineer, said a clerk at the city told him he could turn in his economic statement as late as Dec. 20. He said he is considering legal action to try to get his name back on the ballot, or possibly running as a write-in.

“I'm not looking for a pound of flesh from anybody. My concern is getting my name back on the ballot,” he said. “I look at it as a paperwork snafu.”

Adair, a retired firefighter, said he turned in his economic statement on Nov. 23, a day after it was due. He said he is considering filing a complaint with the election commission.

“It's a paperwork error,” Adair said. “I certainly hope the four of us don't get penalized for it.”

The DuPage County Election Commission referred questions to the city.

Ÿ Daily Herald Staff Writer Bob Smith contributed to this report.