Four candidates for various Will County offices won’t appear on the April 1 ballot for being in violation of the Illinois Campaign Disclosure Act and having failed to either pay or appeal their fines, the Will County clerk’s office said.
The Illinois State Board of Elections sent counties statewide a forfeiture of ballot list last month listing the candidates who filed for office but had overdue fines that weren’t settled with the state by Jan. 23, which was the certification date for the April 1 election.
Under state law, the state board of elections doesn’t certify the name of a candidate who has not paid a penalty imposed against their political committee, Will County Clerk Annette Parker said in a statement.
“The Clerk’s office must follow the law and not place upon the ballot for the April 1, 2025 consolidated election candidates whose name appear on the ballot forfeiture list as of certification date,” Parker said.
In Will County, that includes Kevin “Kollins” Hedemark, who was running for Lockport Township highway commissioner, Giovanni Santana, who was running for alderman in the Aurora’s 9th Ward, Cesar Guerrero, running for Joliet Township supervisor and Peter Adamson, running for Plainfield village trustee.
The four candidates are not incumbents for the offices they were seeking.
Candidates are given the opportunity to work with the state to pay their fines so their names could appear, said Matt Dietrich, a spokesman with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
He said the law is simple; any fines issued for campaign finance violations must be paid by the certification deadline or the candidates cannot be on a ballot under Illinois law. Candidates are notified of any past due violations, and it is a routine procedure that takes place before every election, he said.
Many candidates do settle their payments with the state so they can appear on the ballot, but some do not, Dietrich said.
“Our job is to create the list,” Dietrich said. “We forward it to the election authorities. It is their job to enforce it.”
Three of the candidates in Will County paid their fines in the last week, but after the deadline.
Guerrero’s committee owed $6,550 in fines dated from July 19, 2023, when he was sent a letter the state board of elections was terminating Elect Cesar Guerrero as an active committee. He paid a fine Jan. 29, Dietrich said.
Joliet Township Democratic precinct committeemen voted Tuesday to support a resolution asking Guerrero be restored to the ballot after he settled his dispute.
The Adamson committee negotiated a settlement to pay $375 to settle $750 in fines, but the committee did not pay it until Jan. 29, Dietrich said.
Hedemark owed a $100 fine for two late reports in 2022, which were paid Jan. 30.
The Santana committee still owes $11,075 for failure to timely file required reports, according to a state letter from July 23, 2021.
Because of the ballot forfeiture, these races will now be uncontested.
Aurora’s incumbent Ald. Edward J. Bugg will be the sole candidate in the 9th Ward.
With Adamson removed in Plainfield, only three trustee candidates remain for three open seats on the village board, including incumbent Tom Ruane and newcomers Vanessa Sula and Siv Panicker.
Hedemark, a Democrat, was removed for Lockport Township highway commissioner, leaving incumbent Jim Louch, a Republican, as the only candidate on the ballot.
Guerrero, a Democrat and Joliet councilman, was removed in the race for Joliet Township supervisor, leaving only Darrell R. Boisdorf, a Republican, on the ballot.
Michelle Mulilns is a freelance reporter.
