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27th Ward Candidate Beukinga Should Remain on Ballot, Hearing Officer Says

By Stephanie Lulay | January 8, 2015 6:15am
 Candidate Gabe Beukinga is running against veteran Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. in the 27th Ward.
Candidate Gabe Beukinga is running against veteran Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. in the 27th Ward.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

NEAR WEST SIDE — A candidate challenging veteran Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. should remain on the 27th Ward ballot, a hearing officer recommended Wednesday night.

Hearing officer Barbara Goodman recommended Beukinga's name be kept on the 27th Ward ballot and the objection against him be thrown out, Beukinga's attorney Jim Nally confirmed. The recommendation is pending approval by the board.

Nally, a longtime election attorney, said that it was not uncommon for the Board of Elections to reject a hearing officer's recommendation. But the board puts "a lot of stock" in the officer's direction, he said.

Goodman's recommendation is "certainly better than the alternative" for Beukinga, Nally said.

Because Goodman's written recommendation is pending, Nally said that he did not think the elections board would rule on the Beukinga case at an already scheduled meeting Friday. A final ruling next week is more likely, he said.

After the hearing, Beukinga said that he had no doubt that he would beat the objection. The objection case was a "waste of time and money," but it hasn't slowed the candidate down, he said.

"I'm happy that democracy was served and that we can get back to working in the 27th Ward," Beukinga said.

The objection challenging Beukinga's petitions, filed by East Garfield Park resident Vashon Briscoe and Garfield Park resident Priscilla Yates, argued that the petitions showed "a pattern of fraud," contained forged signatures and were "roundtabled," alleging that the same people were signing the petition sheets multiple times.

More than a dozen Beukinga supporters, including former State Sen. Rickey Hendon, were subpoenaed in the challenge case.

Beukinga, 31, has previously said that more than 1,000 of his petition signatures were deemed valid in the Board of Elections' records examination process. A candidate had to collect 473 valid signatures to land on the 27th Ward ballot.

Burnett, 51, is seeking his sixth term in office.

The diverse 27th Ward includes parts of the West Loop, Greektown, Garfield Park, the Near North Side, Old Town, West Humboldt Park, West Town, the Medical District and Goose Island neighborhoods.

The election will be Feb. 24.

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