Both Ubi O'Neal and former Judge Devlin Schoop were in line when the Illinois State Board of Elections opened its doors this morning for the start of the special judicial filing period.
The 2nd Subcircuit vacancy of the Hon. Valarie E. Turner came into existence on December 1 when the Illinois Courts Commission ordered Judge Valarie E. Turner retired from office.
O'Neal and Schoop are both eligible, therefore, for a lottery to determine who will be first on the ballot in that race.
However, O'Neal is already a candidate for the Willis vacancy in the 2nd Subcircuit. As of this writing, his withdrawal from that race has not been posted on the ISBE website. I don't presume to know the intricacies of the timing required here, but I do know that O'Neal cannot be a candidate for both vacancies.
O'Neal has sought judicial office previously; he was a countywide candidate in the 2010 primary. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Schoop to a countywide vacancy in 2015 but he thereafter lost his 2016 primary race.
I'd put some sort of embarrassed emoticon here if I knew how. FWIW readers make great copy editors.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your invaluable service, Jack
ReplyDeleteYour favorite commentator, Anon.
Schoop
ReplyDeleteO'Neal
Willis
Brookins
Sumner
Robinson
Devlin Schoop
ReplyDeleteUbi O'Neal
Wesley Willis
Howard "the Squirrel" Brookins
Nyshana Sumner
Chelsey Robinson
Final tally so far, in order of filing
ReplyDeleteDevlin Schoop
Ubi O'Neal
Arthur Wesley Willis
Nyshana Kali Sumner
Howard B. Brookins, Jr.
Chelsey Robinson
That's it. No more. Only O'Neal and Schoop are eligible for the ballot lottery, but O'Neal never withdrew from the Willis vacancy where he is facing a pending objection. If he doesn't drop the Valarie Turner vacancy fast, he will be out of BOTH races, reduced to a spectator and not a competitor. Why do you think Brookins and Sumner first withdrew from their other races BEFORE filing for the Valarie Turner vacancy, Ubi?