More work needed on challenge to Geneva Township assessor petitions

A hearing into whether Gary Fritz can stay in the election for Geneva Township assessor will reconvene today, with the township electoral board studying petition signatures and addresses at the Kane County Clerk's office.

The hearing began Monday. Assessor Aubrey Pratte, who is not seeking re-election, challenged 138 of the names on Fritz's nomination petitions, saying he couldn't verify the signatures on at least 80, and that 35 of the people did not live in Geneva Township.

Fritz disputes that, saying Pratte used incorrect street names to look up the voters, and that people's signatures might have changed in the decades since they first signed up to become voters.

The township electoral board - consisting of Town Clerk Barbara Olson, Supervisor Pat Jaeger and Trustee Richard Sharp - will study the names Pratte questioned and present its preliminary findings Friday morning. It will then reconvene Feb. 17 to vote on the objection. If there are not at least 217 valid signatures, the petition would be invalid and Fritz would be kicked off the ballot.

His opponent is township Trustee Denise LaCure.

Fritz told the electoral board Monday he had not had enough time to respond to the challenge, since he was not served with the challenge until Saturday. He was told Friday of the challenge by a newspaper reporter, but could not get a copy of Pratte's challenge from the township office. Fritz said he had two people checking the allegations Monday morning at the clerk's office, and that they had come up with at least 25 mistakes in Pratte's list.

In other action, the board accepted the withdrawals of challenges to three other candidates for office: One against Sharp, one against trustee candidate John Connolly and one against highway commissioner candidate John Carlson. Trustee Sharon Brazill stepped in for Sharp to rule on the petition against him.