Will defection from alternate slate doom the hopes of some remaining candidates?

The Cook County Officers Electoral Board began its work at a hearing this morning at the County Administration Building. At this initial session hearing officers were assigned to make recommendations on most of the challenges that have been filed to nominating petitions filed by county candidates, including all 21 challenges to Cook County judicial candidates.

Three of those judicial challenges look particularly interesting.

Case no. JUD 06 is brought by Ronald C. De La Cruz and Andrew Reyes against Jacqueline Marie Griffin, candidate for the countywide O'Brien vacancy.

Case no. JUD 17 is brought by Jose Magaña against Monica G. Somerville, candidate for the countywide Cannon vacancy.

Case no. JUD 21 is brought by Thomas R. Elliott and Christian Sorensen against Paul Joyce, candidate for the countywide Lynch vacancy.

These are related cases. Griffin, Somerville, and Joyce were all members of an alternate slate of candidates; they circulated joint petitions.

There were five candidates on this alternate slate: Somerville, Joyce, and Griffin -- and Claudia Silva-Hernandez, who filed for the Sullivan vacancy -- and Elizabeth "Beth" Ryan, who was listed as a candidate for the McGury vacancy.

But Ryan also circulated a separate set of petitions for the countywide Ingram vacancy. That's the vacancy she actually filed for.

Each of these challenges argues that Ryan's defection is fatal to the candidacies of the other challenged members of the alternate slate. Paragraphs 19 and of each of the Objectors' Petitions alleges as follows:

 19. Candidate's Nomination Papers, the joint petition for nomination, fails to contain a Statement of Candidacy and a receipt for Statement of Economic Interests for Ryan.

 20. Candidate's failure to file a Statement of Candidacy and a receipt for Statement of Economic Interests for Ryan renders Candidate's Nomination Papers invalid as a matter of law pursuant to the plain language of Section 5/7-10 of the Illinois Election Code.

I offer no opinion whatsoever on the validity of the objectors' contentions. The three cases have been assigned to the same hearing officer and presumably the candidacies of Somerville, Joyce, and Griffin will stand or fall together.

But even though every other member of her alternate slate was challenged, no objection was filed to the nominating petitions of Claudia Silva-Hernandez. Which are the same petitions filed by Somerville, Joyce, and Griffin.

The Objectors in case nos. JUD 17 and JUD 21 are represented by the same attorney. I have reached out to counsel for any explanation he may have as to why Silva-Hernandez avoided a challenge. Silva-Hernandez faces two opponents in the race for the Sullivan vacancy: Judge Thomas More Donnelly, the Cook County Democratic Party's official choice in the race, and Meridth Vanae Hammer.

Elizabeth "Beth" Ryan faces no challenge in her race for the Ingram vacancy. Her sole opponent is the Party's slated candidate, Yolanda Harris Sayre.