Lee tossed off Joliet ballot, petition challenges in two council races

One potential Joliet mayoral candidate has been booted from the ballot, and two council candidates face petition challenges that could keep them out of the April 4 election.

The city has notified Gregory Lee that he will not be on the ballot after filing to run both for mayor and city council.

City officials pointed to state election law prohibiting candidates from running for two offices simultaneously in barring Lee, a relative unknown given little chance in the election, from the ballot.

“His petitions for office are deficient on the face,” Deputy City Attorney Chris Regis said Thursday. “Therefore, they will not be certified.”

Meanwhile, two viable candidates for City Council face challenges to their nominating petitions that could keep them off the ballot.

Candidates Michael Carruthers and Christopher Parker have hearings on Wednesday before the city electoral board.

The electoral board is headed by Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, who has a stake in the outcome of the April 4 election.

O’Dekirk is running for reelection, and his effectiveness as mayor could depend on whether the City Council is friendly to his goals.

Carruthers is one of four candidates who has filed to run in District 5.

Council Member Terry Morris, who has been an ally with the mayor on key issues, is the current council member in District 5 and is seeking reeelection.

Carruthers on Thursday acknowledged that his nominating petition has problems because he collected signatures from people who live outside of District 5. But, he said, other candidates also have signatures from people not only outside the district but outside the city.

“My argument on Wednesday will be if one falls off we should all fall off,” Carruthers said, insisting others should be kicked off the ballot if he is removed.

The deadline for filing objections was Tuesday, however, and it’s unlikely the electoral board could remove anyone off the ballot without a challenge having been filed by the deadline.

The objection to Carruthers’ petition was filed by Kathy Spieler, a supporter of O’Dekirk who, Carruthers said, also signed Morris’s petition to run for reelection.

Carruthers is a veteran who was active in the formation of the Buffalo Soldiers American Legion Post 242 and is a member of the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission, giving him some background for a run for elected office.

Parker also has credentials, being a bank executive and board chairman of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce African American Business Association.

His petitions have been challenged by William Ferguson, a potential opponent of Parker’s in Council District 4. Five candidates have filed in District 4. But one of them is Lee, who is being thrown off the ballot in both District 4 as well as the ballot position for mayor.

Lee’s removal from the mayor’s race also gives O’Dekirk the bottom spot on the ballot, considered the second-most advantageous ballot position.

Car dealer and philanthropist Terry D’Arcy, considered O’Dekirk’s most formidable challenger in the election, has top ballot position. Also running for mayor is community activist Tycee Bell.

O’Dekirk is chairman of the city electoral board, which consists of the mayor, the city clerk, who is Christa Desiderio, and the senior council member, who is Jan Quillman.