Tinley Challengers Win Appeal, Judge Orders Names Kept On Ballot

TINLEY PARK, IL — A Cook County judge on Friday reversed a call made by a local electoral panel, instead asserting that the candidates seeking to oust Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz and his slate should remain on the April 1 ballot.

A Tinley Park Electoral Board in December voted to remove the names of mayor challenger Michael Maloney and his Tinley Together slate, citing six American flag images printed on the nominating petitions. Maloney and slate took the matter to appeal in Cook County Circuit Court.

Late Friday, a judge called the board's decision "clearly erroneous," and ruled the names should stay on the ballot.

“This victory isn’t just for our team—it’s for the voters of Tinley Park,” said Maloney, in a press release issued Saturday.

<< READ ALSO: Challenger To Tinley Mayor, Slate File Appeal After Kicked Off Ballot >>

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. The panel chaired by Village of Tinley Park 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.

Judge John J. Tully Jr. on Friday said his ruling aligned with Delort's opinion on the matter. The objectors, Tully said, "took the bait.

"The majority’s deliberations show that they were concerned about “messaging” or “political statement” on the petitions," the ruling reads. "But, as emphasized repeatedly and correctly by dissenting member Delort, the Election Code’s restriction on political slogans is confined to the candidates’ names ... (not to mention that a slogan is also defined elsewhere as a word or words, not images)."

Within the ruling, Tully cited Delort's previous statements.

"... There has never been an electoral board in this State that I'm aware of, or that the parties cited, that has ever thrown any candidate off the ballot for something like this," Delort said.

"... The statute says in connection with the name. All right. This is a flag used as a decorative motif on a petition, and that's all it is. It's not in connection with the name of the candidate."

Tully goes on to say that the board's decision, "creates an exclusionary rule where none exists."

In other words: it was a stretch.

"Ballot access is a substantial right not lightly denied," the ruling reads. "A court must 'tread cautiously' when asked to restrict voters’ right to endorse and nominate the candidates of their choice."

Maloney called the objection "political gamesmanship" in a statement.

“This was a clear rebuke of the kind of political gamesmanship that Glotz and his allies are known for," Maloney said. "The court saw their arguments for what they were—an attempt to silence the voters of Tinley Park. But today, democracy prevailed, and it’s a reminder that the town bully doesn’t always get his way."

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 District Board.

The slate will face Mayor Michael's Glotz's One Tinley Park, where he is 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.

<< READ ALSO: Board Tosses Challenge In Orland Township, Candidates Kept On Ballot >>

In Orland Township last month, a panel tossed a similar challenge. The Orland Township Electoral Board of Robert Bertucci, Laura Jacksack and Thomas Melody convened to deliberate on the challenge against nominating documents for candidates of the Orland Township United slate. Running on the slate are Rich Kelly for township supervisor, Cindy Murray for clerk, Antonio Rubino for assessor, Tracy Sullivan for highway commissioner, and trustee candidates Michael Schofield, Lena Matariyeh and Danny Flores.

The challenge, brought by Jacky Smith of Orland Park and Milica Blagojevic of Orland Hills, sought to nullify the candidates' materials and remove them from the April 1, 2025 ballot, due to the inclusion of six American flags in the header of the petitions. It cited election code that notes political slogans, titles, or similar messaging are prohibited on petitions. Like the one made against the Tinley Together candidates' nominating materials, the objection likens the flag to a political slogan or messaging.

The objectors there went on to state that the flag is being "used by specifically aligned interests, or positions, namely, those who brandish the flag are doing so to demonstrate that they are Republican and/or support president-elect Trump, who has clearly redefined the use of the US flag in political campaigns, and as a designation for his MAGA political campaign."

The flags were placed on the petitions to sway voters, the objectors alleged.

The board ruled the flags' appearance on the petitions "does not infringe on any legal or procedural requirements," and the panel voted to dismiss the objection, saying the use of the flags was appropriate. The ruling solidified the candidates' spots on the ballot.