Judge orders Cook County sheriff candidate's name be put back on ballot
Judge Nichole C. Patton's ruling issued Monday says the county's board of elections abdicated its duty when it deferred to a state Training and Standards Board hearing officer on whether Carmen Navarro Gercone lacked the certification required by a new law.
Gercone, who was sworn in as a Cook County sheriff's deputy in 1994, is running against incumbent Tom Dart and Chicago police Sgt. Noland Rivera in the Democratic primary.
Under the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity Today Act, a person cannot be elected or appointed sheriff as of 2022 unless the individual has successfully completed "the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Officers Training Course as prescribed by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board or a substantially similar training program of another state or the federal government."
Gercone argued the training she received as a sheriff's deputy and at the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy qualified as "substantially similar training," but the board of elections disagreed in a 2-1 vote.
• Daily Herald staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.