Challenges filed in Des Plaines council race

Two candidates for aldermanic seats on the Des Plaines City Council have filed challenges to their opponents' candidacy petitions.

Robert Porada, who's running for alderman in the city's 7th Ward, has challenged the petitions filed by his opponent, current Alderman Don Smith. And 4th Ward Alderman Dick Sayad has challenged the petitions filed by his opponent, Mark Setzer.

The challenges will be examined by the city's Electoral Board, which will determine whether they're valid. If upheld, the challenges could result in Smith and Setzer being removed from the April 7 ballot.

Both Porada and Sayad said that in filing their challenges, they were simply following state election laws.

"There's a process in place," Sayad said. "I looked at the petitions and saw things that looked irregular or wrong, so I exercised my right to file a challenge."

"It's not personal," Porada said. "The rules are there for a purpose, and I filed the challenge in an effort to make sure they're followed properly."

Smith said he's confident that the Electoral Board will find nothing wrong with his petitions.

"This challenge is frivolous and has no basis," he said. He added that he's run for office three times previously without encountering a single petition challenge.

Setzer could not be reached for comment.

Petition challenges in local elections generally revolve around technicalities - whether the candidate provided the required number of signatures, for instance, or whether the proper language was used throughout. One of the claims in Porada's challenge, for example, states that certain pages of Smith's petitions are invalid because the 7th Ward isn't specifically mentioned in the headings.

With the challenges filed, it's now up to the Electoral Board to make a ruling on them. Normally, the board consists of three people - the mayor, the city clerk and the senior alderman.

Porada said he and Sayad have filed a motion asking that Des Plaines Mayor Matthew Bogusz be disqualified from participating, because they believe he has expressed or exhibited support for their opponents in the past.

Bogusz appointed Smith to the city council after the death of 29-year-old Alderman Joanna Sojka in August. Smith had previously served on the council from 1997 to 2009. Sayad, meanwhile, has been a vocal critic of the mayor.

"We're not sure he can be objective in that role," Porada said.

Bogusz could not be reached for comment.

Porada has also filed a motion asking that City Clerk Gloria Ludwig be disqualified from participating, saying that she worked with Smith on the Frisbie Senior Center board of directors. Ludwig could not be reached for comment.

No date has been set for when that motion will be heard, or when the Electoral Board will be assembled.