WHAT'S A SIGNATURE WORTH?

Most people do not remember that in November of 1994, I was a declared candidate in the Republican primary for Mayor of Chicago. Back then, candidates had to collect petition signatures of 2% of the citywide vote in their party's previous primary. That meant I could get on the ballot with a few thousand people committing their John Hancock to fulfill my aspiration.

I really was just kidding around when I had told some political reporters of my quest, but the Sun-Times took my candidacy seriously and wanted an interview. Once my feet were put to the fire, I had to make the logical decision to “drop out.” I found it hysterical that the newspaper thought my perceived “candidacy” was important enough to warrant a story about my leaving the race.

 There aren’t primaries anymore in Chicago for Mayor, Treasurer, City Clerk or Aldermen. The Republicans passed a bill in Springfield in 1995 for nonpartisan elections thinking it would help them to get one of their (my) kind elected if the party affiliation were not listed on the ballot. How did that work out? There is one Republican alderman of the 50, he is not running for re-election, and there are no affiliated City office holders.


The 1995 law did not stipulate how many petition signatures are needed. How stupid were the legislators on that one? So, somehow, using legal precedent and other Illinois election laws as reference, the Board of Elections decided that 12,500 signatures are what it takes to get on the ballot. Since a candidate has to protect themselves against any invalid signatures, one needs to collect at least 25,000 to be safe.

Recently a number of law suits have been filed in federal court suing the Chicago Board of elections arguing that requiring so many signatures to get on the ballot for mayor, clerk, or treasurer is "onerous" and "restrictive" and "serves no compelling state interest." I will follow the law suits.

How does the Chicago requirement compare to New York or Los Angeles? Both cities have more residents than Chicago yet require much less. L.A. wants 500 with a $300 filing fee or 1,000 with no fee. NYC candidates for Mayor need 3,750.
 
In case of petition challenges, a candidate needs a vast number of authentic signatures on their petitions. Since people are only allowed to sign one candidate’s petition, each good name is basically priceless. With so many people running for Chicago Mayor this cycle, I am surprised that valid signatures were not being sold on Ebay to the highest bidder!

The joke is that dead people vote in Chicago elections. (I don’t know how much of a farce that really is because we know dead people ride public transportation in the Windy City. See my December 2nd blog)
 The highest price ever paid for someone’s signature on the open market was in 1991 when someone bought an Abraham Lincoln note for $748,000. Now that’s a signature I would love to see on a petition!