Campaign filing starts today

SPRINGFIELD — A suburban election season that could see a number of contentious primary races at all levels starts today, when people running for state and county offices can start making their candidacies official.

For months, candidates have been roaming the suburbs, knocking on doors, trying to get enough petition signatures to get on the March 20 ballot.

Because of a federal lawsuit, candidates for Congress won't start filing petitions until late December at the earliest.

But everyone else will turn in signatures between today and next Monday, when filing closes at 5 p.m.

Illinois General Assembly hopefuls will turn in their petitions in Springfield, where many might line up at 8 a.m. today to be among the first.

Why so early?

Everyone in line at 8 a.m. is eligible to get his or her name listed first on the ballot for that race. Conventional political wisdom and at least one study suggest that being the top name in a crowded field of relative unknowns can boost a candidate's chances of winning.

At 8 a.m., a state police officer will stand at the end of the line, and anyone ahead of the officer is eligible for the top spot, State Board of Elections Executive Director Rupert Borgsmiller said. If more than one candidate for any race is in line at the time, the top spot is decided by lottery.

Candidates in county races will file petitions at county buildings.

But the suburban campaign lineup won't all be set up today.

Some candidates wait until the end of filing, too. While the top spot on the ballot is most coveted, the next most sought-after position is the last one. And whoever files last — “the last man standing,” as Borgsmiller puts it — gets it.

Many candidates have already announced their intentions, giving a sneak peek at where some of the suburbs' most closely watched primaries will be.

In DuPage County, for example, state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale is facing a GOP primary for Illinois Senate against freshman state Rep. Chris Nybo of Elmhurst. And state Sen. Carole Pankau, an Itasca Republican, similarly faces a challenge from a House incumbent, state Rep. Randy Ramey of Carol Stream.

Though they won't file Monday, some suburban primary races for Congress are expected to be among the most closely watched in the country, including the GOP battle between incumbent Reps. Randy Hultgren of Winfield and Joe Walsh of McHenry.

The heated battles are prompted in large part by new political boundaries drawn by Democrats.

This year, new maps for both Congress and the General Assembly are being challenged in court, and both cases are ongoing.