Lake candidates face petitions challenges

The election isn't until April but some candidates already face challenges that could knock them off the ballot.

At the Wauconda Park District, incumbent Bob Cook is challenging signatures on petitions of board president Eileen Geary and board member Stefani Schweda-Jerard.

All three are incumbents seeking re-election in a race that features five candidates for three, 4-year terms.

“I found several questionable signatures,” said Cook, who also is the Lake County Republican party chairman. “I thought, `Let's look at the process and check them out.'”

Forty-eight signatures are required, and Cook said he wants candidates to follow the rules.

“We actually have a really great park district,” he said. “This is not based on animosity or anything like that.”

The challenges will be heard at 1 p.m. Monday by the Lake County electoral board, which is comprised of the county clerk, state's attorney and circuit court clerk or their designees.

Challenges to two petitions in the Waukegan park district and one in the Zion park district also are on the docket. The county electoral board hears challenges for parks and library races.

School districts and municipalities have individual electoral boards that hear and decide challenges in their jurisdictions.

In Island Lake, the petitions of one candidate among seven in the race for three, 4-year terms has been challenged. The village's electoral board meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to hear the case of Joseph Ptak versus Marcy Night.

Ptak is one of three candidates running as the Residents Invested in Governing With Honesty & Integrity slate, and three other candidates are running as the People's Voice for Island Lake slate. Night is running as a solo candidate.

Ptak said Night submitted only six signatures from Lake County voters, far short of the required 33. A portion of the village also is in McHenry County, which is where the bulk of Night's signatures are from, according to Ptak.

“We want to capture all three seats and take control of the board, which is presently dominated Mayor (Debbie) Herrmann and her three allies,” Ptak said.

“I was raised in Chicago and we don't want our vote split.”