Objection to Dist. 214 candidate overruled
Northwest Suburban High School District 214 board candidate Misa Edwardsen will remain on the April 4 ballot, for now, after an objection to her candidacy was overruled.
But objector Janice Phares of Arlington Heights has until Wednesday to decide if she wants to appeal the Cook County Electoral Board decision in court.
Phares argued Edwardsen, a Mount Prospect resident, should be removed from the ballot for filing a statement of economic interest form that was blank and unsigned.
But the three-member board - composed of designees of the Cook County clerk, the state's attorney and the clerk of the circuit court - said it can't rule on the content of such forms.
"The candidate's position is correct, that it is well-settled law in Illinois that Electoral Boards lack jurisdiction over the substance of responses on a statement of economic interest," according to the board's Jan. 25 written decision.
Phares has five business days to seek judicial review of the decision. Her attorney, Steven Fine, didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Edwardsen, a District 214 parent and first-time candidate who has raised concerns at school board meetings, said parents "are eager for a change, and voters deserve to have a choice on the ballot."
"As a parent, I look forward to talking to the community about student safety, academic growth, and increasing communication between the school board and their constituents," she wrote in an email Tuesday evening.
Hearing officer Joseph Ponsetto had recommended Edwardsen be removed because the receipt for her statement of economic interest was not properly filed at the clerk's office.
But Phares' objection didn't raise issue with the receipt for the economic interest form, but in the form itself, the electoral board wrote.
Edwardsen, who is a teacher in Elgin Area School District U-46, is one of five candidates for three seats on the District 214 board.
Longtime board members Bill Dussling and Alva Kreutzer, who are seeking reelection, are joined by River Trails Elementary District 26 board member Frank Fiarito on the Friends of District 214 slate. Elizabeth Bauer, a frequent critic and regular attendee of board meetings, also is running.