The primary election June 28 for the Will County Board district 6 election has been engulfed in controversy as incumbent, Herbert Brooks, Jr. a county board member since 2008 was thrown off the ballot on Monday. Brooks’ petition was challenged by his opponent for questionable signatures. A hearing was held by the Will County Board of Elections and a decision was made to remove him from the ballot.
“My competitors are trying to win by trying to disqualify me,” Brooks charged. “My district is the most diverse in the county. By telling my constituents that their signatures are invalid is the same as saying that their votes don’t count. Its discrimination, plain and simple.”
Upon review by the Will County elections, there were 12 signatures that were not honored which leaves Brooks short for the 81 needed to be on the ballot.
Brooks, who is also pastor of St. John Church, says the move to disqualify him is discriminatory because it deprives African American voters of equal representation.
“I have served on the county board for more than a dozen years and I know most of my voters who signed my petitions. For example, one of my signatories, Mary, lived with her 90-year-old mother. When her mother died this year, she moved temporarily with her daughter around the corner in the same district. Her signature was thrown off the ballot.”
“They made similar moves against the majority of the signatories on my petitions. The result is the majority of African American voters in my district are being denied the right to vote for representation from the candidate of their choice.”
The deadline for filing an appeal is 35 days but Brooks had decided not to appeal the decision and run as a write-in candidate..
After the 2021 census, Will County reduce the number of District from 13 to 11, as a result, what was district 8 has become district 6.
