Campaigns & Elections News
Campaigns & Elections
Unpaid city bills, campaign fines weigh on Johnson ahead of tomorrow’s mayoral runoff; he's a court ruling away from being tossed from ballot
Published reports that Brandon Johnson had amassed thousands in unpaid city water bills and parking tickets has intensified concerns that the former public school teacher lacks the fiscal management skills to oversee the budget of the nation’s third largest city.
Campaigns & Elections
IL Dems change law to allow vote-by-mail ballots to be counted in a way judge had said 'would be obvious way to commit fraud'
The changes come after a Republican state House candidate had sued the Democratic DuPage County Clerk, accusing her of illegally verifying signatures on mail-in ballots against signatures on the vote-by-mail ballot applications, and not the official voter registration records, as had been required by law
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Campaigns & Elections
Appeals court: DuPage judge wrong to step into fight over mail-in ballots while votes were being counted
A state appeals panel has sided with DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek in a court fight with State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, saying courts have no ability to order election officials to follow the law when counting votes until after election officials say they are done counting ballots.
Campaigns & Elections
DuPage County Clerk appeals again to escape judge's order requiring her to follow law when counting mail-in ballots
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek has appealed to the Illinois Third District Appellate Court to overturn a DuPage County judge's temporary restraining order in a dispute with a Republican state legislator over how she is verifying mail-in ballots are legal
Campaigns & Elections
IL Supreme Court rejects bid by DuPage Clerk to overturn judge's order to follow law when counting mail-in ballots
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek had argued a DuPage County judge overstepped his authority by granting a court order sought by a DuPage County state lawmaker seeking to force her office to verify mail-in ballots as Illinois election law requires
Campaigns & Elections
DuPage Clerk asks IL Supreme Court to toss DuPage judge's order to follow law when verifying mail-in ballots
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek argues a DuPage County judge improperly entered a court order requiring her office to exclusively use voter registration records to verify voter signatures on mail-in ballots. She says judges must wait until after she has finished counting votes to ensure votes were legally counted
Campaigns & Elections
Judge: Procedures used by DuPage Clerk to count mail-in ballots 'obvious way to commit ballot fraud'
A DuPage County judge has ordered DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek to rely exclusively on voter registration records when verifying signatures on mail-in ballots, as the law requires, in a win for Elmhurst Republican State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi in her lawsuit over vote counting in her race for a new term in office
Campaigns & Elections
DuPage County Clerk not properly verifying mail-in ballots, Mazzochi says in lawsuit
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, filed suit against DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek, accusing the Democratic Clerk of not verifying mail-in ballot signatures as required by law. Mazzochi trails her Democratic opponent by about 200 votes, as of Monday evening.
Campaigns & Elections
Illinois' Amendment 1 too close to call
Votes will be continue to be counted over the coming days to determine the fate of Amendment 1, the so-called "Workers Rights Amendment" strongly supported by government unions seeking to cement their power over Illinois' laws and government
Campaigns & Elections
Rochford wins big, O'Brien declares victory, giving Dems 5-2 majority on IL Supreme Court
Democrats Lake County Judge Elizabeth Rochford and Appellate Justice Mary K. O'Brien have prevailed in the races for two open seats on the Illinois Supreme Court, in their respective contests vs Republicans former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran and incumbent Illinois Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke
Campaigns & Elections
Cook County voters hand easy wins to Democratic judges seeking retention, including Chief Judge Evans
Voters also elected Cook County Assistant Public Defender Joe Gump to a seat on the bench in the 13th Subcircuit, in the only contested partisan election for judge in Cook County.
Campaigns & Elections
'Unprecedented spending' by Illinois Democrats erodes confidence in Supreme Court independence, officials say
SPRINGFIELD – Governor JB Pritzker, having spent $353 million of his personal fortune on elections in five years, dug into a different pocket for Democrat Supreme Court candidates Elizabeth Rochford and Mary O’Brien.
Campaigns & Elections
Illinois attorney general candidates differ on Pritzker's pandemic orders, forcing Kim Foxx to prosecute crimes
Democrat Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Republican challenger Tom DeVore faced off in a debate on WTTW in Chicago on Tuesday.
Campaigns & Elections
Top IL Dems rake in campaign cash; Trial lawyers chip in big bucks to help Dems
According to campaign finance reports, trial lawyers in Illinois donated almost $1.85 million to campaign funds run by powerful Democratic leaders, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch and State Sen. President Don Harmon
Campaigns & Elections
Judge blocks IL Dems' law to block out-of-state donations to judge campaigns
Democrats said the law was needed to maintain judicial integrity. A federal judge said he feared the law was actually motivated by a desire for the Democrats who dominate Springfield to "maintain the status quo" of Democratic control of the courts, not to fight corruption
Campaigns & Elections
Judge says IL Dems can't step in to join IL State Elections Board's defense vs challenge to IL vote by mail law
The judge recognized Democrats' election efforts could be strained, should he rule that mail-in ballots can't be counted if they are received after Election Day. But the judge said that's not enough to let them join the court fight
Campaigns & Elections
Trial lawyers pony up big bucks to slam Republicans, boost Democrats running in close IL Supreme Court races
This fall, voters will have the chance to reshape the partisan makeup of the Illinois Supreme Court for the first time in modern history. Trial lawyers and other progressive special interests are pouring millions of dollars into a campaign fund to stop that
Campaigns & Elections
Georgia-based Fair Fight and others get around Illinois out-of-state judicial contribution ban by giving to indie 'All for Justice'
SPRINGFIELD – Citizens of other states can’t send a penny to judicial candidates in Illinois but Georgia Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams can send $500,000 to a group backing judicial candidates in Illinois.
Campaigns & Elections
Appeals panel: Voters can't create recall mechanism, remove Dolton mayor in same election
A state appeals court says the results of referendums approved by voters in June to remove Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard can't be enforced, because the referendums were placed before the voters unconstitutionally
Campaigns & Elections
'White guy' protestor disrupts SAFE-T Act press conference called by DeVore, Black south suburban leaders, activists
The press conference was intended to draw attention to alleged racial discrimination risks faced by Black and brown Illinois residents under the SAFE-T Act. DeVore called on Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul to condemn the 'violence' that disrupted the press conference