Pols Try to Shut Door on Third Parties

Letter to the editor in the Chicago Sun-Times by Tim Tacker on July 12, 2006.

Pols Try to Shut Door on Third Parties
by Tim Tacker
Chicago Sun-Times
July 12, 2006

More than 39,000 Illinois citizens signed a petition to put Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois governor, on the ballot in 2006. Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka needed only 5,000 signatures to get onto the ballot, but Whitney was required to collect 25,000. Because Democrats and Republicans write the laws in Illinois, new parties must collect five times as many signatures to get onto the ballot; but the Green Party still exceeded this requirement by at least 14,000 signatures, in a matter of only 90 days!

The nominating petition was 191/2 inches thick. To see a picture, go to www.wcgp.org.

The State Board of Elections' Web site shows that Chicago lawyer Mike Kasper, who is general counsel and treasurer for the Democratic Party of Illinois, requested a copy of the petition less than two hours after it had been filed. In fact, the Web site shows the request for copy as having been made at 6 p.m. on June 26, but the board's office normally closes at 4:30 p.m. and only remains open until 5 p.m. during filing and objections.

One week later, an 8,000-page objection was filed in an attempt to remove Rich Whitney from the ballot.

In 2004, Ralph Nader, the Illinois Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the Free and Equal Elections Coalition accused Mike Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House and chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, of using state employees, on taxpayer time, to object to Nader's nominating petition. Mike Kasper previously served as general counsel for Mike Madigan. Coincidence?

Tim W. Tacker, chairman,
Will County Green Party