Politics & Government

"Stop Hough Main Giveaway" Candidates Removed from Barrington Ballot

The Barrington electoral board voted to remove James Magnanenzi, Michael Kozel and JoAnn Fletcher from the ballot because they failed to file mandatory statements of economic interest.

 

The names of three candidates vying for Barrington Village Trustee positions will not appear on the April ballot as originally planned.

The Barrington electoral board voted tonight to remove the names of James Magnanenzi, Michael Kozel and JoAnn Fletcher from the ballot, because the trio did not file mandatory statements of economic interest with their nomination papers.

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“The Village Clerk does not scrutinize the documents,” Village Manager Jeff Lawler explained. “They count the pages and make sure the pages are there; they are given a receipt and the receipt indicates what documents are there. They were provided a receipt that showed those documents were not on file,” he said.

Resident John C. Sciaccotta filed an objection regarding the issue with the village of Barrington last week, prompting the hearing. The 20-year Barrington resident said he filed the objection because he feels it’s important that village trustees are lawful citizens.

Find out what's happening in Barringtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“If they can’t comply with the law, I think they would have a difficult time being of course a trustee over very important matters that govern the village of Barrington,” Sciaccotta said.

Magnanenzi, Fletcher and Kozel are the faces behind the Stop Hough Main Giveaway yard signs seen around town. Their election platform highlights their opposition to the Hough/Main development. The group has been vocal about their desire for residential units in the complex instead of the proposed office space. They are also critical of the village’s plan to lease the land to the developer for $1 a year for 99 years.

Following Monday's hearing, Magnanenzi said, "Darch and Trustee Raseman are on the Barrington Election Board that removed us from the ballot. So Darch is the Judge, Jury and Executioner," he said. Magnanenzi went on to say, "Darch, Raseman & (Economic Develoment Director Peg) Blanchard will take the fall for the wasted $26,000,000 in TIF that has decimated the Village into a vast wasteland of demolished building sites with little or no value in a village with declining population as a result of their fight against residential development."

Village President Karen Darch stands by the board’s decisions for Hough/Main. Board members explained the village money put into the project will be repaid by TIF District funds. She also said the decision for office space was made based on what the market will support. Raseman has said the board is not against residential development downtown, but the Hough/Main site is just not the place for it. 

Darch leads the opposing slate, running with Trustee Tim Roberts and residents Sue Padula and Pete Douglas. Darch is running unopposed.

Magnanenzi, Fletcher and Kozel have the option to appeal the ruling with the Cook County Circuit Court. Regardless of the decision to appeal or not, the three can still appear on the ballot as write-in candidates. They were not immediately available for comment following Monday’s meeting. 

Read the full Objection Packet and Village of Barrington's Findings and Decision to the left of this article. 


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