Giannasi Removed From Plainfield Trustee Ballot: Electoral Board

PLAINFIELD, IL — A candidate for Plainfield trustee is no longer on the ballot after the Plainfield Electoral Board decided Thursday morning to sustain an objection against his petition.

A Plainfield resident, Trista Lee Countryman, filed an objection against Nicky Giannasi on the grounds that, when filed, the 28 individual pages of his petition packet were unbound and "not in any way attached together or to one another."

A licensed clinical professional counselor in Plainfield, Giannasi submitted his petition at 12:08 p.m. Nov. 18, the last day to file for candidacy, to run alongside four other candidates in the April 1, 2025, election for three village trustee openings.

The Illinois Election Code requires all nomination petition sheets to be "neatly fastened together in book form, by placing the sheets in a pile and fastening them together at one edge in a secure and suitable manner."

The Plainfield Electoral Board, which on Thursday consisted of Mayor John Argoudelis and trustees Cally Larson and Brian Wojowski, met with Giannasi and Countryman's lawyer, Matthew Welch, to determine the outcome of the objection.

RELATED: Objection Filed Against Plainfield Trustee Petition In 2025 Election

Village Clerk Michelle Gibas was originally on the Electoral Board, but after the objection was filed, Giannasi filed two requests for the recusals of Argoudelis and Gibas, leading to Larson being brought on. Argoudelis remained on the electoral board.

After hearing the arguments and seeing the evidence, the Board sustained Countryman's objection, declaring Giannasi's nomination papers invalid, documents show. His name will not be on the ballot in the upcoming consolidated election.

"The evidence advanced in this matter does not demonstrate that any attempt was made to fasten the pages within the Candidate's nomination petition in any manner, and that there has been no compliance whatsoever with the provisions of Section 10-4 of the Election Code," the Electoral Board decided, per village documents.