Appeals Court Rules Rep. Scott Drury Can Stay On Primary Ballot

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — An Illinois appellate court found in favor of Rep. Scott Drury, ruling he can remain on the ballot for the March 20 primary election. With Friday's ruling, early voting is cleared to begin and ballots will be ready next week with Drury's name alongside seven other candidates running for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

Drury's attorney said he was delighted with the decision, describing it as "complete vindication" for his client.

“I have known all along that Scott fully complied with the Illinois Election Code," Casey Westover said. "I’m glad he can now turn his focus to winning this election.”

A union-backed lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court challenged an electoral board decision to allow Drury to use the same economic disclosure paperwork in his attorney general run as he had used for the General Assembly.

A Cook County judge agreed with the challenge, which hinged on the definition of the term "unit" of government – is the state legislature in a different unit than the office of the attorney general?

The appellate court decided it is not:

The two different forms of statements of economic interests in the Ethics Act also support our finding that “governmental unit” in the Election Code means either the state or a local government entity. As we stated above, one form seeks information about the candidate’s connections to “any entity doing business in the State of Illinois,” while the other form seeks information about the candidate’s connections to “any entity doing business with a unit of local government.”... We presume that the legislature did not intend absurdity, inconvenience, or injustice. If Drury were required to fill out a new statement of economic interests because he sought to move from one state office to another, he would be filling out the exact same form. We do not believe that the legislature intended that result.

The court also found Drury's challenger, Tom Rottman Jr., "asserted facts that were not in the record" and did not provide citations for some of his claims. A lawyer for Rottman did not respond to request for comment.

Rottman is a "business representative" for Local 150 of International Union Of Operating Engineers, according to the group's annual reports. The union lauded the challenge, pointing out Drury was absent from the legislature on a day in when Democrats fell short of overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a statewide ban on so-called right-to-work zones and suggesting he was "playing politics with worker's rights."

“Mike Madigan and the political machine have come at me with everything they’ve got – and lost,” said Drury, who has made his antagonistic relationship with his party's leadership a centerpiece of his political brand and campaign (he pivoted from a long-shot run for governor to the attorney general's race in September.)

The Highwood Democrat said hopes the decision marks the end of the "havoc" that "machine insiders" have caused to the primary election, which his campaign suggested was based on fear.

“It’s time for Madigan to act graciously in defeat, focus on real issues like the sexual harassment scandal roiling his political organization," Drury said, warning that the party leader and house speaker was damaging the Democrats' chances for success at the ballot box in November.

The outgoing 58th District state representative recommended that the party leader "get comfortable with the fact that Illinois is going to have an Attorney General who works for people, attacks corruption, and is not scared of him.”

The case has delayed the beginning of early voting from its intended Feb. 12 start.

Officials at the Illinois State Board of Elections told the AP an unofficial and incomplete list they compiled shows early voting did not begin as planned Feb. 8 in about 30 jurisdictions, including the largest counties in the state.

According to the Lake County Clerk, ballots will be ready Feb. 20.

Read the complete opinion below: