Filing period begins for March primary election

Candidates will line up Monday outside election commission offices in DuPage and Will counties to file nominating petitions for a variety of offices in the March 18 primary.

While state and federal candidates submit their paperwork elsewhere, the local election offices will play host to those seeking posts ranging from county board chairman and forest preserve district president to sheriff and regional school superintendent.

The filing period for a spot on the primary ballot officially begins at 8 a.m. Monday and continues through 5 p.m. Dec. 2.

One person not entering the primary is longtime DuPage County Clerk Gary King, who already has announced he won’t seek another term. Instead, King, who has held the office since 1986, is endorsing a bid by Paul Hinds, his chief deputy, to become county clerk.

Countywide elected officials in DuPage who are expected to run for re-election are county board Chairman Dan Cronin, Sheriff John Zaruba, Regional Superintendent of Schools Darlene Ruscitti and Treasurer Gwen Henry.

Six of the 18 county board members also will try to keep their seats. They are Paul Fichtner, Peter DiCianni, John Curran, Grant Eckhoff, Tonia Khouri and Lauren Nowak. All six incumbents are serving 2-year terms. Nowak is a Democrat, and the other five are Republicans.

For the first time in 20 years, an incumbent DuPage County Forest Preserve District president is not seeking re-election.

Mary Lou Wehrli of Naperville and 11-year commission veteran Joe Cantore both have announced their intentions to run for the district’s presidency in the Republican primary to replace the retiring D. “Dewey” Pierotti Jr.

Three of the forest preserve commission’s six members also are up for election. In 2012, all commissioners were elected and then asked to draw for terms to stagger them going forward. Commissioners Shannon Burns, Linda Painter and Marsha Murphy drew two-year terms and are up for re-election in 2014 for four-year terms.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Will County, several countywide offices are up for grabs, including the seats of incumbent County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots and Sheriff Paul Kaupas. The four-year seats held by Treasurer Steve Weber and Regional Superintendent Shawn Walsh also are up for election.

In addition, both seats in Will County Board District 11, which includes Naperville, are up for election. Those seats are held by Republicans Charles “Chuck” Maher and Suzanne Hart.

Candidates who file simultaneously when the election commission offices open Monday morning — or between 4 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 2 — will be included in a lottery to determine ballot position. DuPage County plans to have its lottery on Dec. 9. Will County has scheduled its lottery for the following day.