Kane election complaint hotline in full effect for Tuesday
Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to choose their next mayors, aldermen, and trustees, along with members of local school, park district and library boards.
The Kane County state’s attorney’s office will staff an election complaint hotline from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day and investigate in person if needed.
People can call (630) 208-5328 for complaints about electioneering, illegally placed signs and denial of voting rights in any of the county’s 228 precincts.
“Because so many municipal positions are contested, we expect this will be a very active election,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said. “Our office will be ready to assist election judges and the voters to ensure polling places are run fairly and are free of political activity.”
The hotline is only for election complaints. Voters who have questions about polling places and hours should call the Kane County Clerk’s Election Help Line at (630) 232-5990.
Convicted rapist gets semi-reprieve: An Aurora man convicted of a 2006 rape will get another chance to argue that his attorney provided an ineffective defense.
Kerry L. Cage, 42, formerly of the 400 block of North Lake Street, recently won an appellate court ruling in which he argued that a judge improperly dismissed Cage’s motion for a new trial because Cage failed to have the motion notarized.
In their ruling, the appellate panel agreed, saying previous court rulings have held that failure to have a notarized affidavit was not a sufficient reason to dismiss a motion for ineffective assistance. Cage was acting as his own attorney in filing the motion.
According to court records, Cage was indicted on 20 total charges, including multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, unlawful restraint, domestic battery and one count of robbery and obstructing justice in connection to a July 22, 2006, attack in Aurora.
Cage was convicted in June 2007 on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, along with robbery and obstructing justice. He later was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison.
The appellate ruling does not mean Cage gets to go free. It gives Cage a chance to argue before a judge that his attorney was ineffective and, if the judge agrees, a new trial could be ordered.
No date has been set for Cage to appear in Kane County court.
If he loses his hearing, Cage will remain in prison until his scheduled release in December 2031, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He also has done time for convictions in Will County for harassing a witness, aggravated battery and drug possession, records show.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com