Challenger To Tinley Mayor, Slate File Appeal After Kicked Off Ballot

TINLEY PARK, IL — A slate of candidates seeking to oust Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz and his slate have appealed a panel's ruling that the challengers' nominating documents for the April 2025 election were invalid.

Mayoral candidate and challenger Michael Maloney said in a release Friday that his slate's nominating petitions had been nullified due to the inclusion of six American flag images on the documents. Filed by Timothy E. Janecyk, the objection alleged the flags' appearance could be perceived as a political slogan and messaging, in violation of election code and in turn invalidating the petitions.

A Tinley Park Electoral Board chaired by Trustee William Brennan voted 2-1 to uphold the objection and deem the petitions invalid during a hearing Dec. 9. Board members Mathias Delort and Paul Karkula also heard the matter; Delort cast the vote to overturn the objection, according to a court reporter's transcription obtained by Patch.

Maloney called the challenge "baseless" and a "troubling act of political interference," and in a press release Friday asserted his slate would appeal it. Maloney confirmed Monday that an appeal has been filed, with a hearing set for Dec. 27.

"This is a political stunt orchestrated by Mayor Glotz and his allies to stifle democracy," Maloney said in a statement to Patch Monday. "Glotz, Bill Brennan and the objectors are attempting to silence and bully challengers over the use of our flag. What could be more undemocratic than that?

"These tactics are a prime example of why we need new leadership in Tinley Park that brings our community together, instead of dividing it."

Patch has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the full objection.

Maloney leads the Tinley Together Ticket, sharing the slate with clerk candidate Cynthia “Cindy” O’Boyle and trustee candidates Melissa Sanfilippo, Eric Schmidt and Matthew Walsh. Walsh is the most recent former police chief of Tinley Park; he resigned in Sept. 2023 and went on to become police chief of Indian Head Park.

O'Boyle is the wife of Bernie O'Boyle, vice president of the Tinley Park-Park Board.

In late-2023, Maloney was tapped to oversee cleanup of the Tinley Mental Health Center property, after t. Maloney is the former President of Pipefitters Local Union 597. His experience included managing large workforces on multimillion-dollar projects involving highly radioactive components in nuclear power stations across northern Illinois, the park district said. Maloney leads remediation efforts at the property, which the park district purchased in 2023. Sanfilippo sits on Remediate 280, a committee formed by the Tinley Park-Park District to collaboratively oversee the cleanup.

Glotz tops the ticket for One Tinley Park, joined by Village Clerk Nancy O'Connor and trustees William Brady, Dennis Mahoney and Colleen Sullivan. Glotz was first elected in 2021 and is a member of Operating Engineers Local 150. Brady became trustee in 2017, followed by Mahoney and Sullivan in April 2021. O’Connor was appointed village clerk in January 2022 and elected in April 2023.