Three Schaumburg trustees to seek re-election

Schaumburg trustees Marge Connelly, Frank Kozak and Jack Sullivan, whose terms end in May, plan to file as candidates for re-election Monday morning.

Schaumburg is among four municipalities in the Northwest suburbs whose filing periods are earlier due to the potential of a large number of candidates triggering a primary election.

The other villages are Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect and Palatine.

In these villages, if the number of candidates who file for a particular office exceeds four times the number of seats available for that office, a Feb. 26 primary election will occur to narrow the number for the April 9 consolidated general election.

In Schaumburg’s case, with three trustee seats available, at least 13 candidates would have to file to trigger a primary.

The filing period for the potential primary begins Monday, Nov. 19, and stretches through Monday, Nov. 26.

This year, a minimum of 78 valid signatures is required to be a candidate in Schaumburg.

Though the incumbents said they couldn’t speak for anyone else’s plans, they at least hadn’t heard of any other residents circulating petitions.

This comes in contrast to the 2011 election, when now former resident Brian Costin announced his intention to challenge Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson 15 months in advance.

Costin ultimately allied himself with other candidates who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent trustees Hank Curcio, George Dunham and Mark Madej.

For other municipalities and local government bodies with an April 9 election but no possibility of a primary, the candidate filing period will run from Monday, Dec. 17, through Monday, Dec. 24.