Aurora Alderman Candidate Deemed 'Ineligible' For Election: ISBE

AURORA, IL — A candidate running for alderman on the Aurora City Council has been taken off the ballot, deemed "ineligible" by the Illinois State Board of Elections," the office confirmed to Patch.

Giovanni Santana, who was running in Aurora's 9th Ward, was one of four candidates in Will County found in violation of the Illinois Campaign Disclosure Act and failed to either pay or appeal their fines, Will County Clerk Annette Parker wrote in a statement Tuesday.

The other candidates on the ISBE's Forfeiture of Ballot list were Cesar Guerrero, for Joliet Township supervisor; Kevin "Kollins" Hedemark, for Lockport Township highway commissioner; and Peter Adamson, for Plainfield village trustee.

Candidates would have had to pay their fines by Jan. 23, the day ballots were certified, Matt Dietrich, who serves as the Freedom of Information Act officer at the ISBE, told Patch.

The statute reads:

The State Board of Elections shall not certify the name of any person who has not paid a civil penalty imposed against his or her political committee under this Article to appear upon any ballot for any office in any election if the penalty is unpaid by the date required for certification.

The Santana committee still has not paid its $11,075 fine, Dietrich said on Wednesday.

"The statute on this is very clear," Dietrich said. "There's not wiggle room for candidates. Anybody can go to court to try anything they want ... but what I saw from the Will County Clerk's Office looked completely accurate to me and what happens at virtually every election cycle."

Parker said her office has "no discretion in this matter," as the guidance was provided by the ISBE with direction from the Will County State's Attorney's Office, who serves as the clerk's legal counsel.

"The Clerk's office must follow the law and not place upon the ballot for the April 1, 2025 consolidated election candidates whose [names] appear on the ballot forfeiture list as of certification date," Parker wrote.