Hoffman Estates trustee candidate's petition droppped for lack of signatures
The field of candidates in Hoffman Estates' 2023 trustee race for three seats on the village board officially shrank Tuesday, a day after it had grown.
Last-day filer Mark Vrabel's nominating petition was not certified by Village Clerk Bev Romanoff because it included only 30 of the required 55 signatures, she said.
Meanwhile, Schaumburg's mayoral race has become officially uncontested after challenger William Olson's petition wasn't certified for similarly having only 32 of its required 83 signatures, as well as missing all other necessary documents, Schaumburg Village Clerk Marilyn Karr said.
Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly's name will be the only one on the ballot for his office as he seeks a second term April 4. Incumbent Trustees George Dunham, Mark Madej and Brian Bieschke, as well as new village clerk candidate Jane Lentino, also are uncontested.
In Hoffman Estates, Vrabel said he'd been unaware of the earlier filing date for a potential Feb. 28 primary before rushing to get his paperwork in by Monday's deadline.
"It caught me by surprise," said Vrabel, a resident of the 55-and-older Poplar Creek Village, Tuesday. "That's not information that's easily accessible."
Since the other four candidates who filed aren't enough to trigger a primary, Vrabel said he planned to request an extension to the filing deadline for the April 4 election observed by municipalities who don't have primaries.
"But I don't want to get into a fight or battle with anyone," said Vrabel.
Romanoff said his suggestion of an extension is not how the primary system works. A primary would be triggered if more than four times the number of candidates for a particular office filed.
Joining incumbents Anna Newell, Gary Pilafas and Gary Stanton on the April 4 ballot will be retired Hoffman Estates police lieutenant and former mayoral candidate Mark Mueller in a race for three available seats.
The Illinois State Board of Elections is not involved in municipal elections, Public Information Officer Matt Dietrich said. But municipal clerks have a fair amount of latitude in determining whether petitions meet required criteria, even without a third party's objection, he added.
Palatine is the only other municipality in Northwest suburban Cook County that uses the primary system, but only incumbents Scott Lamerand, Doug Myslinski and Kollin Kozlowski filed to retain their current seats on the village council.