Kaneland write-in candidate couldn’t serve if elected

Voters could have chosen Peter Lopatin of Sugar Grove as one of their next Kaneland school board trustees, but he would not have gotten to sit on the board.

The school board already has three trustees who live in Sugar Grove Township, the maximum allowed by state law for the unit school district. Lopatin, a write-in candidate, also lives in Sugar Grove Township, according to his Kane County voter registration record.

If he was elected, the school board would not seat him, according to Superintendent Jeff Schuler. Instead, the next eligible candidate with the highest votes would be seated.

“I am disappointed, but remain interested in service to the community,” Lopatin wrote in reply to a request for an interview on the matter.

Trustees Joe Oberweis, Teresa Witt and Tony Valente live in Sugar Grove Township. Their terms expire in 2015.

Incumbent Cheryl Krauspe, who is on the ballot, lives in Elburn, in Campton Township. Pedro Rivas, also on the ballot, lives in Blackberry Township. Write-in candidate Veronica Bruhl lives Elburn in Blackberry Township.

There are three, four-year terms available.

According to Ken Menzel, deputy counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections, no one else from Sugar Grove Township should be seated when the new board convenes after the election.

According to the school board’s policy manual, a board member’s office becomes vacant if a “competent tribunal” declares the person’s election void.

The Kaneland school district reaches into eight townships.