September 07, 2024
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Hearing set Friday in La Salle County coroner ballot dispute

Powell to ask judge to put him back on Nov. 5 ballot

By Tom Collins
Dr. Larry Powell (left) was removed from the Nov. 5 ballot for coroner Monday, June 17, 2024. Powell, seen here with La Salle County GOP chairman Larry Smith, filed invalid petitions, a three-member panel ruled.

Dr. Larry Powell (left) was removed from the Nov. 5 ballot for coroner Monday, June 17, 2024. Powell, seen here with La Salle County GOP chairman Larry Smith, filed invalid petitions, a three-member panel ruled. His appeal will be heard Friday, July 26. (Tom Collins)

An Ottawa physician will ask a judge Friday to put his name back on the Nov. 5 ballot for La Salle County coroner.

Dr. Lawrence Powell, a Republican who was removed from the race June 17, appealed his removal in La Salle County Circuit Court. Circuit Judge Troy D. Holland has set a hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the downtown Ottawa courthouse.

In his appeal, Powell said a three-member panel got it wrong in sustaining a ballot challenge filed by Democrat Rich Ploch, the incumbent coroner seeking reelection.

Ploch’s lawyer, La Salle attorney Tom McClintock, had said Powell missed a key deadline and circulated numerous petitions outside the time frame spelled out by the Election Code before the GOP selected him.

Powell has disputed that, saying the petitions were circulated within the correct timeline. Powell also said the panel based its decision on an “inaccurate” reading of the statute and “improperly applied the law in sustaining [Ploch’s] objection.”

Ploch’s objection was upheld by a three-member review panel comprising La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro, County Clerk Jennifer Ebner and Circuit Clerk Greg Vaccaro. The trio emerged from closed-door deliberations and unanimously sustained Ploch’s challenge.

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