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 LaCaje Hill, another incumbent councilmember, for procedural violations in their candidacy paperwork. According to Illinois state law, the paperwork was not properly bound and all three candidates were found to have failed to provide a receipt proving that they had submitted a statement of economic interest within the past year at the time they filed their candidacy paperwork. The candidates quickly remedied this, but not before the Oct. 28 submission deadline.

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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 in separate hearings. 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 legality of the decision has been called into question by the city and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and another hearing may be scheduled depending on their decision.

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.

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In Rye Sanders’ case, the facts were in dispute. Rye Sanders had submitted a statement of economic interest within the past year  with a receipt dated March 18 and again with a receipt for Nov. 1, three days past the Oct. 28 deadline. Despite this, the election board concluded that neither receipt was included alongside the rest of her submission to the city.  She argued that having the former statement on file could act as a substitute for a receipt filed with her paperwork. Dunham responded by citing the precedent set by Bolger v. McHenry and Powell v. East St. Louis, that an existing statement does not negate the need for a receipt to be filed with the rest of the paperwork. As it was found in Reed’s hearing, having a receipt filed after the deadline also does not remedy its absence with the nomination paperwork, so Kang’s objection on the issue was upheld. Halfway through the hearing, Sorrell recused herself from the elections board 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.

“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.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct a number of errors:

–  In an earlier version, this article claimed that Reed and Rye Sanders did not file their statements of economic interest, when they were instead missing a receipt proving that it was filed. 

– Previously, the article claimed that another hearing will be held for Hill’s case. The article was updated to remove this claim and instead explain that the legality of the original hearing is being questioned, and a second hearing may be held in the case that the first is invalidated.

– Previously, the article did not clarify that Reed and Rye Sanders had separate hearings on Dec. 13.

– This article was updated to clarify that Rye Sanders did have multiple receipts for her statement of economic interest, but none were filed before the Oct. 28 deadline for submission.

– A previous version of this story misspelled LaCaje Hill and has been updated to reflect accurate spelling

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