Man says Campton Hills panel violated the law

A Campton Hills man has filed a complaint with the Illinois attorney general alleging the village electoral board broke the law when it met in private to decide whether two candidates would stay on the Feb. 5 ballot.

The complaint, filed by Robert Skidmore, states the electoral board committed a "great injustice to public trust … as well as a blatant violation of the Open Meetings Act" when it went into closed session during a public hearing Monday.

At the meeting, the board recessed to closed session twice to discuss objections to candidates Robert Young's and Carolyn Higgins' election paperwork. After returning to public session, the board voted to remove Young, a village president hopeful, from the ballot. Higgins remains in the race for village clerk.

In his complaint, Skidmore cites sections of the Illinois Open Meetings Act that suggest electoral boards are held to different standards than regular government bodies, and essentially are not allowed to meet out of public view.

He also claims Village President Patsy Smith, who stepped down from the electoral board because she is running for election, inappropriately entered one of the closed sessions.

Terry Mutchler, public access counselor for the Illinois attorney general's office, said the complaint is under review. "We have not gotten to the merit yet to see if it's valid," she said Thursday.

Donna McDonald, a village attorney who oversaw Monday's meeting, could not be reached for comment.

Skidmore is vice president for the Wasco Sanitary District board, which serves parts of Campton Hills. He said he filed the complaint as a resident, not a district representative.