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John Cunningham (Illinois)
John "Jack" Cunningham was a candidate for the District 1 seat on the Vigo County School Corporation school board in Indiana. Cunningham was defeated in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.
Cunningham was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 11th Congressional District of Illinois. He was removed from the ballot on February 2, 2012 by the State Board of Elections,[1] but filed for judicial review on February 7.[2] Cunningham was reinstated during a hearing on February 21,[3][4] only to be removed again.
Biography
Cunningham has served as Kane County Clerk since December 1, 2002. He previously served as an Aurora City Commissioner and chairman of the Aurora Board of Local Improvements from 1965 to 1973, chairman of the Aurora Civil Service Commission from 1982 to 1986, and Adjutant General of the Aurora Navy League from 2003 to 2005.[5]
Education
- B.A., Political Science, Chicago State University
- MA, Business and Public Administration, Governors State University
- J.D., Lewis College of Law
- J.D., Northern Illinois University[5]
Campaign themes
2012
On his campaign website Cunningham listed five themes of his campaign:[5]
- "Balance the budget by ending wasteful spending, duplicative and failing programs, and aggressively but safely working to open up resources and get Americans back to work"
- "Repeal government-run health care legislation, promoting private-sector alternatives to restore the doctor-patient relationship"
- "Stop the raiding of Social Security and Medicare funds to ensure long-term stability and protect our seniors"
- "Promote tax reform to encourage business development within the U.S. Ð not to send our jobs overseas"
- "Pass term limits on Members of Congress, requiring Congressmen and Senators to live by the same laws we do and end special privileges"
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Vigo County School Corporation school board were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. Two District 1 seats were up for election and one District 3 seat was also up. Nine candidates filed for the District 1 seats, including incumbents Mel Burks and Jackie Lower. The other seven were Louis Duby, John Cunningham, Teresa Dwyer, Larry Faulkner, Steve Ferree, Cleytus Malone, and Leah Myers. Both incumbents succeeded in defending their seats against the challengers. In District 3, incumbent Paul Lockhart filed for re-election and defeated challengers Donald Barnett and Andrew Theisz. There was no primary.[6][7]
Results
| Vigo County School Corporation, District 1 General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jackie Lower Incumbent |
18.36% | 11,263 |
| Mel Burks Incumbent |
15.80% | 9,694 |
| Leah Myers | 14.80% | 9,084 |
| Teresa Dwyer | 14.12% | 8,663 |
| Louis Duby | 9.39% | 5,764 |
| Cleytus Malone | 7.44% | 4,567 |
| Steve Ferree | 7.16% | 4,393 |
| John Cunningham | 7.12% | 4,366 |
| Larry Faulkner | 5.81% | 3,566 |
| Total Votes (100) | 61,360 | |
| Source: Vigo County, "Official Election Summary General 2016," accessed November 29, 2016 | ||
2012
Cunningham ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 11th District. Cunningham sought the nomination on the Republican ticket.[8] He was reinstated to the ballot on February 21, 2012 after initially being removed on February 2. Cunningham was going to face incumbent Judy Biggert in the primary, but was then removed again from the ballot.
The signature filing deadline was December 27, 2011, and the primary took place on March 20, 2012.
Removal from ballot
On February 2, the Board disqualified challengers Cunningham and Diane Harris, removing them from the ballot. In order to qualify, candidates needed to submit 600 valid signatures. Harris, a notary public, was unanimously removed for not having enough signatures, while Cunningham was removed by a vote of 6-2.[9] Cunningham, who served as Kane County Clerk, submitted 1,265 signatures, but only 526 were ruled to be valid. A state hearing officer threw out hundreds of signatures from Cunningham because they were collected by a paid petitioner who listed a non-existent address as his home.[10] Cunningham previously attempted to remove Biggert from the ballot, but saw the challenge rejected 8-0.
Cunningham appealed the case. A hearing was set to take place on February 16 before Judge Susan Fox Gillis, but Gillis did not receive the record soon enough and pushed back the case until February 21. Early voting began on February 27, and military ballots were sent out without Cunningham's name on them.[11]
Cunningham's appeal focused on 31 petition sheets collected by Charles Leslie. All 31 were considered invalid because two numbers in Leslie's address were incorrect, but Cunningham stated, "He had the right state, the right city and the right street.”[12]
Reinstated and removed again
On February 21, 2012, a hearing was held regarding Cunningham's appeal of his removal. Judge Susan Fox Gillis reversed the Illinois Board of Elections decision and placed Cunningham back on the ballot. "To me it was the kind of error that did not merit disenfranchising voters," Cunningham said.[4] Within days an appeal was filed with the Illinois First Appellate District in Cook County asking them to review the decision of the lower court. It was brought by two Aurora men who objected to Cunningham's candidacy. Their lawyer, John Fogarty, asked for an expedited decision.[13]
On March 7, the appellate court removed Cunningham from the ballot, sending the matter back to the State Board of Elections for reconsideration. While the earlier rulings had to do with a petition circulator who wrote his home address incorrectly on petitions, this court order said two of Cunningham's petition circulators may not have personally appeared before a notary when certifying some of their petitions. The BOE had until March 13 to decide which petitions were valid and if enough signatures remained.[14]
Cunningham's name was listed on ballots used after early voting began February 27, and it was included on the second round of absentee and military ballots that were mailed out. However, election officials said it was too late to change the ballot again.[15] Cunningham said he would continue on with his campaign as normal until a final ruling was made and stated, "I’m optimistic. We’re going to keep working until the fat lady sings.”[16][17]
Biggert stated, “He’s responsible for the elections, and so he should know how to fill out the petitions and who he hires to do that and whether they sign the petitions in front of a notary and collect petitions that are correct.”[18]
On March 14, the court upheld the BOE's recommendation.[19]
Timeline
- December 27, 2011: Candidate filing deadline passed.
- February 2, 2012: The State Board of Elections disqualified challengers Cunningham and Diane Harris, which removed them from the ballot. Cunningham initially stated he would not appeal the decision, Harris stated she would run as a write-in candidate.
- February 7: Cunningham filed for judicial review.
- February 16: A hearing was set to take place before Judge Susan Fox Gillis, but it was delayed until February 21.
- February 21: Judge Gillis reversed the decision by the BOE and reinstated Cunningham on the ballot.
- February 24: Two Aurora men filed an appeal with the Illinois First Appellate District and asked them to review the decision of the lower court.
- February 27: Early voting began with Cunningham's name on the ballot.
- March 7: The appellate court removed Cunningham from the ballot and sent the matter back to the State Board of Elections for reconsideration.
- March 12: BOE voted 7-1 that votes for Cunningham should not be counted and sent the case back to the appellate court for a final decision.
- March 14: Appellate court upheld the BOE's recommendation and kept Cunningham off the ballot
- March 20: Primary election held.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John Cunningham Vigo County School Corporation. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate detail - John Cunningham," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Phone communication with Ken Menzel, deputy general counsel for the IL State Board of Elections
- ↑ Herald News, "Cunningham changes mind, files to get back on 11th District ballot," February 9, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Daily Herald, "Cunningham to face Biggert in 11th District," February 21, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Elect Jack Cunningham, "Homepage," accessed February 8, 2012
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email conversation with Anita Anderson, Absentee/Elections Office," September 2, 2016
- ↑ Vigo, Indiana, "Unofficial Election Results General 2016," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 27, 2011
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Biggert to be unopposed in primary," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Biggert now unopposed in GOP race," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Herald News, "Cunningham changes mind, files to get back on 11th District ballot," February 9, 2012
- ↑ Kane County Chronicle, "Cunningham must wait for decision on appeal," February 17, 2012
- ↑ Kane County Chronicle, "Cunningham foes appeal to keep him off ballot in 11th Congressional District," February 24, 2012
- ↑ Beacon-News, "Cunningham’s ballot status back ‘in limbo’," March 7, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Cunningham again off 11th Congressional District ballot — for now," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "‘Limbo’ status won’t stop Cunningham," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Courier News, "Cunningham’s ballot status back ‘in limbo’," March 7, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Republican again tossed from suburban congressional contest," March 7, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Biggert challenger Cunningham’s congressional bid voided by court," March 15, 2012
| 2016 Vigo County School Corporation Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Mel Burks • Incumbent, Jackie Lower • Louis Duby • John Cunningham • Teresa Dwyer • Larry Faulkner • Steve Ferree • Cleytus Malone • Leah Myers District 3: Incumbent, Paul Lockhart • Donald Barnett • Andrew Theisz |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
