16 Lake County candidates facing petition challenges

At least 16 candidates for elected offices in Lake County could be knocked off April 2019 ballots because of challenges to their paperwork.

They include people running for the Old Mill Creek-based Millburn School District 24 board, the Gurnee-based Woodland School District 50 board and the Lake Zurich-based Ela Area Public Library District board.

Most of the 23 objections filed with the Lake County clerk's office target candidates for the Waukegan Unit School District 60 board, records indicate. A total of 16 objections have been filed against the nine District 60 candidates, with five of the board hopefuls facing multiple legal challenges.

A three-person Lake County electoral board will consider the objections at formal hearings scheduled for Jan. 2, Jan. 3, Jan. 7 and Jan. 8. All hearings are set for 9 a.m. at the county government building in downtown Waukegan.

The electoral board will consist of the county clerk, the state's attorney and the circuit court clerk -- or their representatives.

Objections to municipal candidacies typically are heard by electoral boards established in each town. A countywide list of municipal objections wasn't available Friday.

The candidates whose challenges will be heard by the Lake County electoral board include:

• Millburn District 24 board President Carissa A. Casbon, whose nominating paperwork was contested by John C. Lorentzen.

• Woodland District 50 hopeful Lashanda R. Amen, whose petition was flagged by Warren Township Clerk George A. Iler.

• Ela Area Public Library board candidate Susan J. Nielsen, whose paperwork was contested by Valerie Vogt Pape.

People objecting to candidate petitions often question the validity or number of signatures on the documents. Candidates who don't get the minimum number of signatures can be removed from the ballot.

Other problems with petitions -- including improper binding, incomplete paperwork or violations of other election rules -- can lead to a candidate being struck from the ballot, too.

The reasons for these latest challenges were not immediately available.