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Nolan v. Cook County Officers Electoral Board

Case Date: 03/29/2002
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-02-0444 Rel

1-02-0444

First Division
March 29, 2002

MARY NOLAN,

                        Petitioner-Appellant,

                        v.

COOK COUNTY OFFICERS ELECTORAL
BOARD, Constituting the Electoral Board
Individually and as such Board, DAVID D. ORR,
Cook County Clerk, DOROTHY BROWN, Clerk
of the Circuit Court of Cook County, RICHARD
A DIVINE, State's Attorney of Cook County, and
PATRICK G. DONNELLY,

                        Respondents-Appellees.

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) 		Appeal from the
Circuit Court of
Cook County




No. 02 CE 004




The Honorable
Susan Fox Gillis,
Judge Presiding.


PRESIDING JUSTICE COHEN delivered the opinion of the court:

Mary Nolan filed a nominating petition in support of her candidacy for the office of Illinoissenator for the 18th legislative district. Patrick G. Donnelly filed an objection to Nolan's nominatingpetition. Donnelly raised no question as to the authenticity of the signatures themselves; rather, heargued that the circulator's affidavit on each of the petition's 70 signature sheets was flawed as amatter of law and that the signature sheets should be stricken. The Cook County Officers ElectoralBoard (Board) agreed and struck the signature sheets. Because Nolan was then unable to satisfy theminimum signature requirement, the Board declared her nominating petition invalid and removedher name from the ballot to be voted on at the primary election of March 19, 2002. Nolan filed apetition for judicial review in the circuit court of Cook County. After a hearing, the circuit courtaffirmed the decision of the Board.

We allowed an expedited appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 311 (155 Ill. 2d R. 311). Because we find that Nolan has substantially complied with the requirements of the recentamendment to section 8-8 of the Election Code (Pub. Act 92-129,