State high court in no rush, Rauschenberger stays on ballot

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Supreme Court is in no rush to take up the case of whether Steve Rauschenberger is in fact qualified to be on the Republican ballot in a state Senate race.

The court recently refused to speed up its possible review of a lower court's ruling allowing Rauschenberger to run as a Republican for the 22nd state Senate district in the Elgin area. His candidacy had come under attack because he pulled a Democratic ballot early last year in order to vote for a relative running for a local office.

Illinois' First District Appellate Court ruled 2-1 in favor of Rauschenberger earlier this month. Democrats appealed to the state's high court and asked the justices to expedite the case. The justices recently said "no," all but guaranteeing the case will not be considered before the Feb. 2 primary.

Rauschenberger is challenging incumbent state Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat, in what many expect will be one of the hottest legislative races next fall.

Michael Kasper, an attorney for the Illinois Democratic Party, said the appellate court decision ultimately creates more flexibility for candidates switching party affiliations.

"And what this court said was, being locked into a party did not preclude you from running in the next primary for a different party," Kasper said.

Rauschenberger viewed the recent decisions as a victory.

"This is about chilling people from getting on the ballot, and it's wrong," Rauschenberger said.