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Chicago mayoral candidate William J. Quinlan sues rivals over dual office bids
Chicago mayoral candidate William J. Quinlan is coming out swinging against some of his rivals, challenging their decision to run for two offices at the same time — and asking the courts to step in.
CHICAGO - Chicago mayoral candidate William J. Quinlan is coming out swinging against some of his rivals, challenging their decision to run for two offices at the same time — and asking the courts to step in.
Quinlan files lawsuit against 2 mayoral candidates
The backstory:
Quinlan says he filed in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday, claiming Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and U.S. Congressman Mike Quigley should only run for one office at a time.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is also named, but has re-confirmed to Fox Chicago that she has not officially entered the Chicago mayor's race.
"The games have got to stop," said Quinlan. "We are in the situations we're in fiscally and otherwise here in Chicago because of these exact people doing exactly what they're doing, which is worrying more about protecting themselves and less about protecting the Chicagoan."
Quinlan filed under the Illinois Declaratory Act, claiming the candidates running for two offices at the same time is illegal. Election law experts dispute that, as the races for Secretary of State and Congressman are not on the same ballot as Chicago mayor.
What's next:
Timing here is crucial for voters. If the court agrees with Quinlan, candidates would be required to withdraw from one of the offices they are running for by November 2.
Quinlan is asking the court for an expedited hearing because of this timing crunch, aiming for something before October 18th.
The Source: The information in this report came from Cook County court filings, interviews with mayoral candidate William J. Quinlan and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, election law experts, and FOX Chicago reporting.