Circuit Court upholds decision to remove Hal Patton from Senate ballot, appeal is set

Jan 30, 2018 5:22 PM Jan 31, 2018 11:45 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton has been removed from the ballot for the Illinois 56th district State Senate seat.

An objection was filed against Patton’s candidacy after the Republican signed a petition for the election of a Democrat State Representative.

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“Cook County Circuit Court Judge, Alfred Paul, upheld the objection that had been file to Hal Patton’s candidacy, so that effectively removes Hal Patton from the ballot,” State Board of Elections Public Information Officer Matt Dietrich said.

Dietrich added that Patton’s attorney, Burt Odelson, has said that they plan an immediate appeal and are going to file a motion to “stay the courts ruling,” possibly delaying the implementation of the courts decision to remove Patton from the ballot. Meaning he may remain on the ballot for the upcoming election.

“This will go before the First District Appellate Court in Chicago, we expect that to happen fairly shortly, as early as Friday,” Dietrich said. “If the First District Appellate Court grants the stay, then Hal Patton stays on the ballot for as long as it takes the appeal to go through, and you never know how long those are going to take.”

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The objection against Patton is in regards to the petition he signed for the election of Democrat State Representative, who also happens to be a patient at Patton's dental office.

“He is running as a Republican,” Dietrich said. “Under Illinois election law if you are running as a member of a party you can’t sign a nominating petition for a candidate in the other party. He signed the nominating petition of a Democratic candidate for State Representative, who happened to be one of his patients. It was just kind of a friendly thing, but that was the nature of the objection.”

The election law states that if someone is running as a member of a certain party you can’t be involved in the primary elections of another party. “That’s what you’re doing if you sign a ballot petition for someone from the opposite party. If you’re running as a Republican you can’t be active in the Democratic party’s primary,” Dietrich said.

The seat Patton is seeking to fill is that of Bill Haine, who announced he would not be seeking re-election.

Alton, Godfrey, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Bethalto, East Alton, Wood River, Roxana, South Roxana Caseyville, Collinsville, Elsah, Hartford, Granite City, Madison, Maryville, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Pontoon Beach and Swansea are all included in the 56th District.

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