Longtime DeKalb Township clerk resigns over township supervisor ballot controversy

DeKALB - Longtime DeKalb Township Clerk Lynn Kunde says she resigned over controversy surrounding the Township Supervisor race amid fears of a lawsuit, while supervisor candidate Jim Luebke’s candidacy was thrown out due to a paperwork error.

According to a Tuesday announcement, Luebke’s ballot papers were thrown out ahead of the April 6 Consolidated Election due to what township officials say was an inability to meet all legal paperwork criteria for ballot certification.

The controversy comes after weeks of tumultuous back and forth regarding whether Luebke’s candidacy papers would be certified since township officials said he did not submit one of three necessary filing documents – a receipt of his Statement of Economic Interest – required by law to earn ballot approval.

In response, Luebke filed a lawsuit in DeKalb County court Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against the DeKalb Township, DeKalb Township Supervisor Nancy Tegoda, and DeKalb Township Clerk Kevin Flavin.

Luebke says it was a simple mistake, and Kunde says she resigned because she felt threatened by allegations of a lawsuit over whether or not she certified his papers.

“Frankly, I think my resignation letter says it all,” Kunde said Tuesday. She’s been the township clerk since 2005. “I have no comment against anybody. I just want to move on with my life.”

Kunde said prior to her resignation, she’d received word that members of the newly formed Barb City United Party – a political party formed by several members of the township board of trustees and others seeking reelection to get on the ballot as a joint newly formed party instead of individually – had threatened to sue her if she certified Luebke’s petition.

Luebke, who chaired the DeKalb County Democratic Party until recently, is no stranger to DeKalb County politics. He’s held elected office on the DeKalb County Board, and served as DeKalb Township trustee in 2009.

“Normally this is routine,” Luebke said of the ballot certification process. “I would have gone down there, I would have taken care of it. I’ve done this countless times, coached other people during this process in the last 15 years. And this one time, I miss.”

According to a Tuesday, Jan. 26, email from DeKalb Township attorney Brad Stewart of Crystal Lake-based Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle, Luebke’s candidacy papers for the office of Township supervisor were determined to be uncertifiable for the April election.

In response, Luebke’s Aurora-based lawyer Anna Wilhelmi, said she filed a lawsuit in DeKalb County civil court contesting the lack of certification, claiming Luebke wasn’t given proper notice that his paperwork was missing a requirement, and therefore couldn’t contest any certification objection.

“I really commend her for that,” Wilhelmi said of Kunde’s resignation, which Wilhelmi believes was in protest to unethical ballot protocol. “[The township] basically bypassed the objection process and said, ‘By the way, we want to apparently, on its face, decide not to allow his nomination papers.”

Wilhelmi said Tuesday in response to new Township Clerk Kevin Flavin’s decision not to certify Luebke’s papers, that she’ll move forward with a lawsuit against the township, and believes “this is a grave injustice.”

She said the Writ of Mandamus lawsuit is scheduled to appear before Judge Bradley Waller for an emergency hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

Rather than opting to run as a write-in candidate, Luebke and Wilhelmi said they intend to fight the decision not to certify all the way, since write-in candidacy is not a comparable option to being on the actual ballot.

In a letter dated Jan. 13 sent to the DeKalb Township Board of Trustees, Kunde tendered her resignation on the grounds that township officials were asking her to invalidate Luebke’s petition, which she felt was a decision which “should be left to the voters of DeKalb Township and not solely with the clerk or individuals threatening a lawsuit.”

Missing paperwork problems

According to her resignation letter, on Jan. 4, Kunde verified that Luebke’s receipt from his Statement of Economic Interest – a disclosure document detailing who’s employed by whom, where a candidate gets their paycheck and how they spend it, or any professional or personal ties to entities that could denote a conflict of interest financially, according to the Illinois Government Ethics Act – was omitted from his candidate packet he filed in December. Days later, on Jan. 6, she decided to certify it anyway, the letter states, based on knowledge she’d confirmed that Luebke had filed at least his statement of economic interest with the DeKalb County Clerk & Recorder’s Office Dec. 16, and was simply missing the receipt.

In her professional day job, Kunde also works as deputy clerk and election judge coordinator in the county clerk’s office.

That same day, Kunde spoke was informed by a woman she didn’t wish to name that members of the Barb City United party were looking into filing a lawsuit against her and the township if she certified Luebke’s petition. Kunde said she also feared if she didn’t certify it, Luebke’s party could file a lawsuit against the township.

When reached for comment, Township Supervisor Nancy Teboda, (who was appointed last year when Township Supervisor Jennifer Jeep-Johnson resigned after she moved, and is not running for reelection), deferred comment to Township attorney Brad Stewart.

The Daily Chronicle reached out to members of the Barb City United Party, but did not receive any direct reply to corroborate that any lawsuit threat had been made against Kunde or the township by a party member, though Stewart denied any allegations of a lawsuit on their behalf.

“The Township also wants to clearly state that it has no direct knowledge of any threat of lawsuit regarding this matter by any other candidate or political party,” Stewart said. “The Township advises anyone considering that path to carefully review the legal authorities presented in the attached memo before bringing a suit which might be deemed frivolous and wasteful to the taxpayers of the Township.”

Kunde said she was told she’d be the subject of a lawsuit regardless of what decision she made, and felt her hands were tied.

“One or the other was going to file against me,” Kunde said Tuesday. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s going to cost the township money. The township’s been through enough over the past year.”

Contested candidate concerns

When asked whether Luebke was given any notice that his candidate petition was missing one item during the objection window, Kunde said she can’t say for sure since she was not the one who specifically accepted his papers.

“The person who accepted the petition packet was not me,” Kunde said. “So I can only tell you what she told me and that’s hearsay.”

When asked whether anyone from the Township notified him of missing paperwork before his petition was thrown out, Luebke said no.

When a candidate’s petition is contested, a person must file an official objection, which goes to the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder’s Office and the DeKalb County Election Board to be ruled upon. Luebke said that never happened for him, and said he’s very familiar with the process since during his tenure as Democrat Party Chair, he’s participated in a number of them for his candidates locally.

Luebke said he personally learned his candidacy was in danger of being deemed uncertifiable on Jan. 20, by word of mouth, and he scrambled to compile legal representation and documents which he brought with him to a special Township Board of Trustee meeting on Jan. 21. He said he also went to the township offices and submitted his receipt in the drop-off box, taking a photo of him doing it for documentation purposes as well.

Luebke brought with him Thursday a write-up of the 1992 case Wells vs. Johnson.

“The key part of it was the judge in opinion wrote a candidate’s place on the ballot is a substantial right not to be lightly denied,” Luebke recalled.

There remains just one person, Mary Hess, a current DeKalb Township trustee, running for Township Supervisor, who’s candidacy was certified for the ballot, confirmed Township attorney Brad Stewart Tuesday.

According to documents obtained by the Daily Chronicle, Hess is part of the Barb City United party, which filed a joint petition for the April Consolidated Election ballot. Also included are several current township trustees running for reelection, among others: Chad McNett, Lisa King, Dale Thurman, Nancy Brodlo, Nicole Crespo, Rich Dyer and Craig Smith.

It’s not the first time a slate of township candidates have elected to run as a party instead of individually.

In fact, Luebke himself was part of an independent coalition that ran together in 2013, which also included Lisa King and Kevin Flavin. That same strategy was employed in 2017 by former DeKalb Township Supervisor Jennifer Jeep-Johnson.

Luebke says it’s a strategy that grew out of the suburbs, and has mixed feelings about using it in DeKalb County.

“It’s effectively a loophole election law to encourage participation in parties, like top placement on the ballot, no upper limit of signatures you can gather,” Luebke said.

Luebke argues the law prioritizing resident access to ballots is paramount in cases like this, and something such as a forgotten receipt shouldn’t be his barrier to ballot certification. He says he remains focused on running for the supervisor position, and feels strongly that the Township needs a more transparent voice in the community.

“I know what happened here, it was simple. I goofed,” Luebke confessed matter-of-factly. “I made a mistake. Why I missed it, I don’t know. The greater good is getting people on the ballot.”

This article has been edited to convey that an unknown woman informed Kunde of an alleged lawsuit threat against her regarding the supervisor certification process, that the Barb City United is a newly formed political party, and that the process for contesting any ballot is taken up by the Township electoral board. The Daily Chronicle regrets the errors.