Rutland Township supervisor reinstated on April ballot

Rutland Township Supervisor Margaret Sanders will appear on the April ballot after a Kane County judge Wednesday reversed an electoral board's decision to bounce her from it.

An objection submitted last month by Huntley resident Richard Stack claimed Sanders tampered with her candidacy paperwork by removing and then attempting to reinsert her economic interest statement after the papers had already been filed. Sanders testified that she did no such thing, but the electoral board voted 2-1 at a Dec. 30 hearing to uphold the objection.

Judge David Akemann said Wednesday that the electoral board was incorrect in its decision and called for Sanders' name to be reinstated on the ballot. The verdict was met with applause from the roughly 30 people in the courtroom.

Regardless of whether Sanders tampered with her paperwork, Akemann said, the objector's allegations do not constitute a basis for removing a candidate from the ballot. As stated at the Dec. 30 hearing, he said, Sanders filed her nominating papers correctly and on time. "That's really the key element of this," he said.

Akemann said it's now up to the voters to determine the validity of the claims made in the objection. Sanders said she did not touch her paperwork after turning it in, and her attorney, Ken Shepro, said there is no evidence to support the allegations. Stack did not attend the hearing.

Sanders, who is seeking a third term, called the situation a waste of taxpayer money and said she had no doubt a judge would rule in her favor. She will now face challenger Elden Brauer in the consolidated election.

"I'm just so thankful it's over," she said.