Objectors against Colatorti candidacy file petition for judicial review after Electoral Board ruling
MCHENRY COUNTY — It was previously reported in My Huntley News that on April 14, the McHenry County Electoral Board voted unanimously to deny the Verified Objectors’ Petition filed on behalf of McHenry residents William Brogan and Joel Brumlik, who sought to have Republican McHenry County Sheriff’s candidate Antonio “Tony” Colatorti removed from the ballot.
The petitioners and their legal team had five days from the board’s ruling to file an appeal with the Circuit Court if they wished to seek a judicial review of the board’s decision.
On Tuesday, April 19, Brogan’s and Brumlik’s attorney, Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, filed a petition for judicial review through the McHenry County Circuit Court’s Office.
Within the newest petition submitted, the objectors allege that Colatorti and expert witness John Keigher, chief legal counsel for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (ILETSB), both testified that the part-time law enforcement classes Colatorti took “were not continuous or full time as required by the administrative regulations.”
Krafthefer wrote in the petition that the Electoral Board allegedly “erroneously relied on legal conclusions of the witnesses about the course completion, instead of adhering to the requirements in the Illinois Administrative Code.”
Throughout the petition, the objectors continuously make the allegations that Colatorti does not possess the mandatory certificate required by the Illinois Counties Code.
In addition, it is also written in the petition that the objectors believe that the Electoral Board was “confused regarding its role.”
Krafthefer cited a statement made by Electoral Board member Steve J. Cuda as proof, where she explained that Cuda expressed that he viewed the role of the Electoral Board as being to “find ways to permit candidates to run for office,” which Krafthefer says is not the proper role of an electoral board by law, according to 10 ILCS 5/10-10.
The petition also mentions that the objectors were aggrieved, or troubled, by the Electoral Board’s decision to keep Colatorti on the ballot.
The case is currently set for a scheduling conference in Courtroom 204 of the McHenry County Courthouse in Woodstock.
That conference hearing is scheduled to take place on July 19 at 9 a.m. and will be overseen by Judge Kevin G. Costello.
