The Record North Shore reported on four objections involving three candidates for Skokie Village Trustee, including me. At its November 12 preliminary hearing, the Skokie Electoral Board set a schedule for the next steps. The objections are still pending. Read Samuel Lisec’s reporting in The Record North Shore.
Who objected to whom, and why
In District 2, Kimberly Polka objected to Brad Sugar’s nomination papers, claiming he had too few valid signatures.
In District 3, Rebecca Abraham objected to my nomination papers, and Lissa Levy objected to Samuel Goldstein’s. Both claimed the candidates had too few valid signatures. Jinskey Jeanpois filed a separate objection to Goldstein’s papers, alleging they were improperly fastened.
My attorney, Andrew Finko, argues that my petitions meet the minimum under the Illinois statute that applies to nonpartisan elections. He has filed a motion asking the Electoral Board to dismiss the objection to my petitions. Each petition sheet we circulated says “Nonpartisan Election” at the top.
Rebecca told The Record that “nobody” asked her to file the objection. Lissa texted me, “I wanted to make sure you heard it from me: our campaign has decided to file an objection to your petition.”
What the article says about crossed-out signatures
The Record reports that Lissa Levy crossed out 38 signatures before filing because she determined those signers didn’t meet the requirements. That’s a common issue when collecting signatures. Someone may live in Skokie but outside the district, or they may have moved and still be registered at their old address. Some of the signatures I collected also came from people outside the district. Lissa chose to cross those kinds of signatures out before filing. I left them on the sheets and excluded them from my count.
Rebecca Abraham called my petitions “neglectful.” I disagree. Illinois gives candidates and circulators the option to strike signatures before filing. The requirement is to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. I placed the sheets with most of the out-of-district signatures toward the end because I believed the earlier sheets already contained enough valid signatures to meet that requirement. See the Illinois State Board of Elections’ 2027 Candidates Guide.
What residents said at the hearing
The Electoral Board hearing is open to the public, with time for public comment at the end. Here’s what I heard on November 12.
Rachel, who spoke first, called the situation “silly.” I heard her remarks as criticism of the candidates, the objectors, and the Electoral Board.
David asked the Village to post nomination petitions and objections online. He pointed out that Village staff spend time responding to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for the same documents. Skokie taxpayers cover the cost of that staff time.
Kim said the dispute could have been avoided if the Village had published the signature requirement or told candidates directly how many valid signatures they needed before they started collecting them.
Josh also stressed that the Village should make the required number easy to find so future candidates can avoid the same situation.
I agree with David, Kim, and Josh. The Village should publish the signature requirement before candidates start collecting signatures and post the petitions and objections alongside the candidate list. I thought some of Rachel’s criticism came across harshly and missed some context. I share her frustration. It’s silly that so much time is going into a dispute over a number candidates should have been able to look up from the start. We have more important work to do for Skokie.
What this could mean for voters
Lissa Levy, Rebecca Abraham, and Kimberly Polka were among the supporters of the campaign for nonpartisan elections and district representation. Skokie voters approved both reforms in 2022. We now elect trustees in nonpartisan races, with four seats elected by district and two elected village-wide. The reform campaign called for fewer barriers to running and more choices for voters. Read about the Alliance’s goals.
Samantha Abraham in District 1 and Edward Olivieri in District 4 are running unopposed, and neither faced an objection. All four objections were filed in the two districts where voters had a choice between candidates. If all three challenged candidates are kept off the ballot, every district trustee race this April could be uncontested. That outcome would run counter to what I believe Skokie voters wanted when they backed electoral reform.
I’ll have more to say once the hearing is over.