Candidates vying for political offices across Illinois began filing petitions Monday morning to be placed on next year’s March 17 primary ballot.
Some candidates lined up hours before the week-long filing window opened at 9 a.m. to turn in their stacks of petitions in Springfield for statewide offices and the Cook County clerk’s Loop office for county elected positions.
Petitions were submitted for dozens of candidates — including JB Pritkzer for a potential third term as governor, his returning Republican challenger Darren Bailey and the many candidates looking to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. reps Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky. Signatures were also filed for Toni Preckwinkle, running for a potential fifth term as Cook County board president, and her primary challenger Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).
It’s a standard practice for the big names to get their petitions in first thing. But some candidates will also wait till the very end of the filing period to submit their signatures. That’s because the top ballot spot is widely believed to offer a slight advantage in crowded races, according to local political lore. The last spot is generally considered the next best option.
That was clear Monday morning when fewer candidates than usual stopped in to file, said Edmund Michalowski, deputy clerk of elections for Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon. Less than an hour after the county clerk opened its doors for candidates, no one was in line to drop off petitions.
“I’m surprised there weren’t as many. … We thought there’d be a little more,” Michalowski said.
After the filing period ends Monday, the clerk’s office will publish the preliminary primary ballot. That kicks off a week-long period for filing objections against the candidates up for election.
Candidates also generally try to file many more signatures than required in their races to guard against petition challenges by rivals seeking to knock them off the ballot before the contests even begin.
Candidates who turned in their signatures first thing Monday were entered into a lottery to have their names appear at the top of the ballot. The final candidates to come in next Monday afternoon will be put in a lottery for the last position.
“It’s just so exciting that the candidates today have spent weeks gathering signatures with hundreds, possibly thousands of volunteers,” Michalowski said.
Several county positions are up for election, including clerk, treasurer, sheriff, assessor, county commissioner for districts 1 through 17, board of review for districts 1 to 3, water reclamation district commissioner and township committeeperson.
Bailey undecided after family deaths
In Springfield, Pritzker said he collected more than 50,000 signatures in his bid — this time with a new lieutenant governor candidate, Christian Mitchell.
Among the three GOP candidates who filed to take on Pritzker was former state Sen. Bailey, whose running mate Aaron Del Mar submitted over 12,000 signatures just five days after Bailey’s son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were killed in a Montana helicopter crash.
Bailey hasn’t made a decision on staying in the race, Del Mar told reporters.
Del Mar spoke with Pritzker outside the election board facility. “We just talked, one father to another, about what they must be going through,” Pritzker said.
Also officially joining the gubernatorial fray on the GOP ticket were Ted Dabrowski, who runs the conservative research website Wirepoints, and lieutenant governor candidate Carrie Mendoza; and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, along with running mate Robert Renteria.
The Democratic heavyweights in the battle for Durbin’s seat — Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton — were joined in their party’s primary by Steve Botsford Jr., Jump Shepherd and Kevin Ryan, while Casey Chlebek was the lone GOP entrant.
Crowded Democratic fields were also making it official for the 7th District seat soon to be vacated by Davis and Schakowsky.
Ten Dems had filed signatures for Davis’ seat, with more expected to follow, including Richard Boykin, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, Jason Friedman, Anthony Driver, Anabel Mendoza, city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Felix Tello, Jazmin Robinson, Reed Showalter and Rory Hoskins. Republican Chad Koppie had filed on the GOP side.
And a baker’s dozen made their runs official for Schakowsky’s seat: Bethany Johnson, Patricia Brown, Bushra Amiwala, Jeff Cohen, Kat Abughazaleh, Nick Pyati, Phil Andrew, state Sen. Mike Simmons, state Sen. Laura Fine, Bruce Leon, Sam Polan, Justin Ford and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss. John Elleson filed as a Republican candidate.