Court rules Hebda will stay off 59th House ballot
Upholding a lower-court ruling, a state appellate court has decided former state House candidate Cynthia Hebda should not be allowed to run in the Feb. 2 primary election.
Hebda, a Vernon Hills Republican seeking the 59th state House seat, was removed from the race earlier this month. A Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled she violated election rules by signing the nominating petition of state Rep. Carol Sente, the Democratic incumbent in the 59th District.
It's illegal to sign a nominating petition for a candidate and then to run for the same post, officials said.
Hebda plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court but is aware time is running short.
"I'm guardedly optimistic," Hebda said. "I'm extremely disappointed in this whole process, that's for sure."
Hebda, a Vernon Hills trustee, said she signed Sente's candidate petition because she's a friend and didn't intend to break the rules.
"I was trying to be a good person here," she said.
Hebda blamed Democratic operatives for trying to scuttle her campaign. The person who filed the objection, Steve Rosenzweig, leads a Vernon Township Democratic group. He could not be reached for comment.
Two other Republicans - Dan Sugrue and Mohan Manian, both of Green Oaks - remain in the running for the GOP nomination in the district, which includes parts of southern and central Lake County and a small portion of Cook County.
In the Democratic primary, Sente is being challenged by Buffalo Grove Village President Elliott Hartstein.
Even though the courts have disallowed her candidacy, Hebda's name remains on early voting and vote-by-mail ballots, and it will appear on Election Day ballots in Cook and Lake counties because they've been printed already, election officials said. Votes cast for her will not be counted, but a vote for Hebda will not disqualify an entire ballot, Lake County Clerk Willard Helander said.
Helander is waiting for the courts or the state board of elections to formally notify her of the latest decision before deciding how to inform future voters about Hebda's disqualification.