RUNNING FOR LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICE
During
election season, the
The
Resources
·
The Illinois State Board of Elections publishes
an annual Candidate’s Guide that walks potential candidates through the
election process. That guide can be
found at the Board of Elections website at www.elections.state.il.us.
·
The
·
The Illinois State Board of Elections website
has an online seminar on campaign disclosure, as well as the campaign
disclosure calendar for 2005. www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/welcome.aspx.
1.
Examine why you want to run for public office.
2.
Determine if you really want the experience of running
for local office and all of the commitments that come with it (fundraising,
talking about yourself, asking for support, opening yourself up to public
criticism, etc.). If so…
3.
The first stop is at your local election
commission. In
4.
The packet and Candidate Guide are fairly
self-explanatory for established party candidates if read carefully. Independent and third-party candidates have
extra requirements for ballot access, and should consult with an attorney prior
to gathering signatures and filing petitions.
For example, independent candidates for county offices must gather
nominating petitions signed by qualified voters of the county equaling not less
than 5%, nor more than 8% (or 50 more than the minimum, whichever is greater)
of the number of persons who voted at the LAST General Election in the county
or county board district, 2004 (for county board district, the LAST time the
district elected a member). Where 5%
is greater than 25,000, 25,000 is the minimum number of signatures required. 10 ILCS 5/10-3. Contact your local election commission for a
certified number of required signatures for your petition.
5.
For the 2006 primary, September 20, 2005 is the first
day to circulate petitions for candidacy, and December 12-19, 2005 is the time
period for filing candidacy petitions.
Political Committees are required
to keep an accounting of all contributions and expenditures in excess of
$20. The name of the
contributor/recipient, the mailing address of the contributor/recipient, the
date of contribution/expenditure, and detail of purpose for the expenditure
must be documented. 10
ILCS 5/9-7.
Political Committees must file a series of
forms with either the State Board of Elections, the
local Election Commission, or both depending on the candidate’s county. For example, candidates must file a form D-1
Statement of Organization within 10 business days of the creation of the
committee, except any political committee created within the 30 days before an
election must file a Statement of Organization within 5 days of creation. The definition of Local Political Committees
includes the candidate himself or any individual, trust, partnership,
committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of
persons which accept or expend during any 12-month period an aggregate amount
exceeding $3,000 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate(s) for public
office. 10 ILCS
5/9-1.7.
Political Committees that accept or
expend $10,000 in any reporting period must file their disclosure reports
electronically. 10 ILCS 5/9-28. Electronic filing eliminates the need to file
paper copies of financial reports with the
Candidate filings are available for
review on the State Board of Elections website, www.elections.state.il.us. Those filings are searchable by both candidate
and contributor.
Please contact the