Rauschenberger wins case to stay on ballot

After months of court hearings and more than $30,000 in legal fees, Steve Rauschenberger's fight to stay on the ballot is over.

The Illinois Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the Elgin Republican's position on a primary ballot to reclaim his old state Senate seat - the same day it first heard arguments on the case. A written opinion is expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Supreme court spokesman Joseph Tybor said the quick turnaround was unusual for the court, but that the decision was expedited because of the upcoming Nov. 2 election.

Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald did not reveal the court's vote split in announcing the decision, Tybor said.

Rauschenberger is running against state Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat, in an extremely close race for the 22nd District.

The case centers around a 2009 vote Rauschenberger placed in the local Democratic primary to support his sister, Carol Rauschenberger.

He later filed to run as a Republican in this year's Feb. 2 primary.

An attorney for the Illinois Democratic Party challenged that move, arguing that Rauschenberger's earlier vote should have eliminated him from the Republican ballot - a legal tactic used successfully by Republicans in 2008 to remove an appointed Democratic challenger in a general election because he voted in the previous GOP primary.

Rauschenberger's attorney maintained the case law doesn't apply in the current situation because Rauschenberger pulled a Democratic primary ballot in a separate election cycle.

At the end of July, the fight had already cost him more than $26,000, according to campaign disclosure figures from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Campaign spokeswoman Nicole Bossert said that number is now "a little over $30,000."

Judges from the circuit court and appellate court had previously ruled in his favor.

The petition challenge was Fitzgerald's last case before retirement.

Rauschenberger said he was "excited we won," calling the case "spurious from the beginning."

Noland also said he was "glad for the decision. Voters need to make the decision. Not courts."

Rauschenberger was a state senator in the district for 14 years before leaving his seat to run for lieutenant governor, a bid which he lost. He now heads a conservative fundraising group.