Judge upholds Hoffman Estates candidate's removal from ballot
A Cook County judge Wednesday upheld the Hoffman Estates electoral board's decision to remove village trustee candidate Prajesh "Pat" Patel from the April 7 ballot over questions about his residency.
Hoffman Estates Village Clerk Bev Romanoff, who was a member of the electoral board, said the judge's ruling was based on the lateness of the Patel's appeal rather than its substance. Patel missed a deadline to file an appeal within five days of the electoral board's Dec. 23 ruling, she said.
Patel now has 30 days to appeal the judge's decision to an appellate court. Patel said Wednesday that he planned to discuss a possible appeal with his attorney soon.
The electoral board's ruling focused on whether Patel could legally run for the Hoffman Estates village board despite having been registered to vote, and having cast a ballot, in Addison as recently as November.
Patel explained that the Addison address was his parents' home, where he'd long been registered to vote, but that he's lived in Hoffman Estates long enough to be eligible to run for office. He said he registered to vote at his Hoffman Estates address on Nov. 24, the same day he filed his candidacy petitions.
Still on the ballot for the three available trustee seats in Hoffman Estates are incumbents Anna Newell, Gary Pilafas and Gary Stanton, as well as former trustee Cary Collins.
Patel was running for office for the first time, saying he wanted to provide some representation for Hoffman Estates' Indian-American community.