Wheeling candidacy objections withdrawn Friday

Challenges filed against two Wheeling candidates by a fellow candidate were withdrawn Friday, a day before the scheduled hearing before the village’s electoral board.

Former Wheeling trustee and village president Patrick Horcher — who’s running for village president again — filed the challenges against the re-election bid of Trustee Ken Brady and current Trustee Dean Argiris’ run for president.

Horcher’s now withdrawn complaint argued that Brady and Argiris had too many signatures on their petitions.

Petitions for elected office in Wheeling must have more than 80 signatures, but fewer than 130, Deputy Village Clerk Lisa Leonteos said earlier this week.

Brady’s petition was filed with 203 signatures and Argiris had 186.

Horcher said the reason the law exists is to keep candidates from gobbling up all the potential signatures. While he’d originally been advised that it would have been a hard fight, Horcher said he was more recently told that to win, he likely would have to go all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.

“That’s years of legal nonsense,” Horcher said of why he abandoned the complaint.

Electoral board hearings had already been scheduled for 9 a.m. and noon Saturday at Wheeling village hall, but were canceled Friday afternoon.