Update: Seehausen won’t appeal ballot decision

by Dennis Sullivan
editor@ewcnews.com
Jan. 16, 2015

Updated at 12:48 p.m. Jan. 17.

Crete Village trustee candidate Don Seehausen has decided not to appeal a Municipal Officials Electoral Board decision knocking him off the April 7 Consolidated Election ballot.

Seehausen said Friday afternoon he intended to file a petition for judicial review with the Will County Circuit Court clerk and was discussing his case with an attorney, but changed his mind later in the day after the original story ran.

The electoral board, consisting of Village President Mike Einhorn, Village Clerk Deborah Bachert and senior Trustee Larry Johnston, ruled Thursday that Seehausen failed to acquire the minimum number of valid signatures.

The board declared Seehausen’s petition “insufficient in law in that it contains only 91 valid signatures instead of the required 97 signatures.”

That decision upheld Steve Beaudoin’s formal challenge of 38 of the signatures on Sehausen’s petitions.

Beaudoin, who has also filed to run for Crete trustee, alleged the signatures were invalid because 29 didn’t match the signer’s voter’s registration and nine were from residents who weren’t registered to vote.

The electoral board upheld the legitimacy of Beaudoin’s objections, while dismissing Seehausen’s defense.

Einhorn, who chaired the local electoral board with the guidance of Crete Village Atty Jim Stevenson, said ~~today~~ Friday that the group “spent numerous hours going through case law and state statute in an effort to reach our decision.”

Alluding to the text of the decision, Einhorn said, “It should be very apparent that we’ve taken the position that it is in the best interest of the public that the rules be followed.

“That is the standard,” Einhorn continued, “that we feel municipal government should be run by as it relates to the election process, and we don’t feel that’s an unreasonable expectation.”

The three seats open in April are currently held by Johnston, Holly Milburn and Dan Taylor. Johnston chose not to seek re-election and Taylor, appointed to the post, didn’t file to run for election.

Beaudoin, responding late Friday afternoon, said he believes “integrity is an important value to have and the decision supported that in this (petition) process.

Seehausen had five days from issuance of the Municipal Officials Electoral Board decision to appeal.

The Will County Court hearing would be held within 30 days of Seehausen’s request for a hearing. The Will County panel is required to deliver a prompt decision.

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