You Can't Vote for Criminals

What am I saying? This is Chicago--of course you can. But, according to the Illinois Supreme Court last week, you can't vote for a candidate with a felony record if somebody complains. Two former aldermen who've paid off their debt to society are being kept off the ballot for today's municipal elections. Well, sort of. Since the decision was only a couple of days ago, the ballots have already been printed (and early voting has already taken place), so their names are on the ballots, but any votes for them will be discarded. The (former) candidates in question are Virgil Jones in the 15th Ward and Ambrosio Medrano in the 25th Ward. They'll receive votes, but they won't count for anything.

If you were reading closely, you no doubt noticed the loophole I left in above. I wrote, "You can't vote for a candidate with a felony record if somebody complains." What if nobody does complain? Well, then you've got no problem. Percy Giles of the 37th and Wallace Davis, Jr., of the 27th each also have felony convictions, but they're eligible to run and, potentially, win. There were no official objections filed against Giles, and although someone did object to Davis's candidacy, whoever it was withdrew the objection, so there's nothing currently on the record.

Happy Municipal Election Day, Chicago!