Schaumburg Township Democrats back on ballot
A slate of Democratic candidates removed from the Schaumburg Township ballot in January are back in the race after an appellate court Monday overturned the ruling that put them out of contention.
The decision came on the same day early voting got under way in Cook County, and also rendered moot a hearing scheduled Tuesday on another objection before the township electoral board.
Democratic candidates Moe Patel, Mike Murray, Carolyn A. Quinn and Zuhair Nubani originally were slated as Schaumburg Township trustee candidates, while fellow Democrat Michael Lenehan was slated as a township highway commissioner candidate.
But all were removed from the April 9 ballot after the township’s electoral board ruled 2-1 that the party official who’d slated them — Mike Cudzik — was not the properly appointed Democratic township committeeman at the time.
The candidates first appeal to a circuit court judge failed, but their second, to a state appellate court, succeeded.
Even had the ruling gone against them Monday, the candidates may have still made it onto the ballot. Cudzik officially was appointed township committeeman March 18, giving him authority to appoint the five candidates to fill the ballot vacancies created by the original objection.
Since then, Chandrakant H. Pandya of Roselle — who filed the first objection — filed a second that questioned both Cudzik’s authority and timing. Since the first objection has been overturned, the second now has no basis.
The township electoral board, consisting of Supervisor Mary Wroblewski, Clerk Timothy Heneghan and a court-appointee, planned to hear and rule on this second objection at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Wroblewski and Heneghan, both Republicans, are being challenged by write-in candidates Rezwanul Haque and Nafees Rehman, respectively.
The Republican candidates for township trustee are incumbents Robert Vinnedge, Jeffery Mytych, Diane Dunham and newcomer Nimish Jani. Current township Trustee Scott Kegarise is the Republican candidate for township highway commissioner.
Republican township Assessor John Lawson is unopposed in his re-election bid.