Candidates for state, federal and county offices began turning in their petitions to seal a spot on the March primary ballot on Monday, signaling the official start of the 2020 election season.
In Springfield, Democrats and Republicans lined up early to officially toss their hats into the ring for U.S. Senate, congressional races and a seat on the judicial bench.
In Chicago, the Monday kick-off of the filing period brought out a who’s who of county politics, as well as lesser-known names seeking to hold offices from state’s attorney to clerk of the circuit court to party ward and township committeeperson, among other offices.
Candidates have a week to file their nominating petitions, but anyone in line when the doors opened Monday morning was guaranteed a chance in the lottery that determines which candidate is listed first on the ballot for a given race. Conventional political lore holds that the top spot gives candidates an edge on Election Day.
Bill Conway, one of the Democrats seeking to oust incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, was eighth in line with nearly 32,000 signatures to get on the March ballot, more than four times the 7,279 needed for Democratic candidates to get on the ballot in that race.
“We tried to turn on a faucet and it turned into a fire hose,” Conway said of the process of getting signatures.
Filing at least two to three times the required number is no superstition. The extra signatures provide a cushion in the face of ballot challenges.
Foxx did not show up in person, but staff members of the Cook County Democratic Party filed petitions on her behalf along with other party endorsed candidates.
All the candidates seeking to replace retiring Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown showed up early to file their petitions.
Jacob Meister, who ran for the spot in 2016 was fourth in line Monday morning with almost 20,000 signatures, nearly three times the 7,279 needed to get on the ballot. Though he didn’t get the endorsement of the county’s Democratic Party he feels confident that his message will resonate with voters.
“The clerk’s office is ground zero of what needs to be fixed in the county,” Meister said. “I’m the reformer in the race and that’s what voters have said they want. … They don’t want machine politics as usual.”
Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi who is also seeking to succeed Brown, was endorsed, or slated, by the party to succeed Brown. He shrugged off Meister’s comment.
“I always find that ironic that every other candidate who showed up and asked to be slated by the party — begged, pleaded to be slated by the party — turns around and says ‘because I wasn’t the slated candidate that somehow the process itself failed,’” Cabonargi said.
State Sen. Iris Martinez was right behind Meister in the fifth spot, and former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin followed her.
Dan Patlak, who is running to retain his seat on the county’s Board of Review was first in line — staffers of his were present long before the doors opened at 9 a.m.
In Springfield, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin filed to run for a fifth term. He drew no primary challengers on the first day, but two Republicans did officially enter the race — former Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran Jr. and Springfield physician Tom Tarter.
Candidates seeking spots in the party leadership also began filing their papers on Monday.
Near the front of the line in Chicago was Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th). He wants to replace former state Rep. Luis Arroyo as committeeperson of that ward. Even though he’s an ally of Arroyo and ran with his help, Villegas said he’s running for the position to make sure there are no links to the scandal surrounding the former state representative, who has been charged with bribery.
“I got 2,000 signatures in a week,” Villegas said. “I think my independence as alderman has echoed throughout the community.”
Party leaders have asked Arroyo to step down as ward committeeperson, but he has not said whether he will do so. Arroyo did not file any petitions in Monday’s first wave of activity.
But some candidates tainted by scandal did.
Chester Wilson, a top aide to 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin, filed a hefty stack of signatures to help her hold the committeeperson post for the 34th Ward despite federal agents raiding Austin’s office in June.
Ald. Ed Burke (14th) also filed to keep his seat as 14th Ward committeeperson, despite party leaders asking him to step down from that post after being charged with racketeering and bribery in a 59-page federal indictment.
The filing period stretches to Dec. 2. Candidates have until 5 p.m. to turn in their nominating papers.
