The Carbondale Municipal Officers Electoral Board decided on Dec. 10 to remove sitting Councilwoman Ginger Rye Sanders and candidate Ryan Reed from the ballot for Carbondale Consolidated Election April 1, 2025.
Former Councilman Navreet Kang filed grievances against the candidates as well as LaCage Hill, another incumbent councilmember, for procedural violations in their candidacy paperwork. According to Illinois state law, the paperwork was not properly bound and both candidates were missing a statement of economic interest, a document which discloses a public officials’ assets and income in order to provide transparency into their personal stakes in economic or business issues.
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The elections board, consisting of Mayor Carolin Harvey, City Clerk Jennifer Sorrell and Councilman Adam Loos, met twice on Dec. 10 to hear objections to Reed and Rye Sanders. The board also met once on Dec. 2, during which Hill was also removed from the ballot, but due to a failure to notify the public about the hearing, the decision was rendered moot and the board will meet again at a later date to hear the case publicly. Reed and Rye Sanders both represented themselves, but Attorney Darrell Dunham represented Kang, as he is currently in India.
In Reed’s hearing, the facts of the case were not in dispute, but he argued that he was in substantial compliance with the law, meaning that while he was in violation of the law, it was quickly corrected and there was no ill intent behind it. Dunham then argued that in no preceding case had the statement of economic interest been considered eligible for substantial compliance.
In Rye Sanders’ case, the facts were in dispute. Rye Sanders argued that, as a member of the city council, she had submitted a statement of economic interest within the past year. But without a dated receipt or copy on file with the city, it was decided that she was in violation of the law. Halfway through the hearing, Sorrell recused herself from the hearing in order to provide testimony about the time that Rye Sanders submitted her candidacy paperwork, stating that it was missing the required items, namely a paperclip binding the packet together and the statement of economic interest.
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“I make it a point not to point out any deficiencies in the paperwork verbally,” Sorrell said. “That is the receipt’s job and that is the candidate’s job prior to submission.”
During both cases, Kang’s citizenship and voting registration in Carbondale were called into question, but as neither candidate provided proof that he was not a citizen, and Kang has previously served on the city council, the argument was determined to be false.
The abstract nature of the violations was not lost on the elections board, who expressed their sympathy with both Reed and Rye Sanders.
“There is a difference between what the law is and what we believe individually,” Loos said. “A lot of these laws are made in the Chicago area, and down here politics is a contact sport, but up there it’s a blood sport.”
He continued, “If we agree on the facts, then it’s a matter of law, and we really have no discretion on this.”
Following these decisions, the official ballot will be certified before Dec.19 with all remaining candidates. Candidates may appeal the decision before the ballot is certified, but the facts of the case are now established.
Staff reporter Morrigan Carey can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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