Incumbent Coroner is a Write-In Candidate for Re-election

LAKE FOREST, IL - It’s not too often an incumbent seeks re-election as a write-in candidate.

But that’s what Dr. Thomas Rudd, the Lake County coroner, is trying to pull off.

Voters who want to keep Rudd in office will have to do so with a fury of write-in votes. Howard Cooper, a Republican, and Michael Donnenwirth, a Democrat, will be the names on the ballot.

Rudd was elected coroner as a Democrat in 2012 and has held the position ever since. But a controversy that arose surrounding petitions he gathered while attempting to run for re-election in the Democratic primary this year caused him to drop out of that race.

“Because of a clerical error I needed to withdraw my name as a Democratic nominee for coroner,” Rudd told his supporters in a recent letter.

But he never had intentions of not running to keep his office. His next step was to seek ballot access as an Independent.

He calls the number of signatures he received during that process "overwhelming."

“I had the near impossible task of obtaining a minimum of 10,000 signatures in 90 days,” Rudd wrote. “Thanks to great support and much hard work, we obtained over 14,000 signatures.”

But Donnenwirth, whom Rudd referred to as the “fake Democratic candidate,” challenged this based on a 2012 Illinois law that stated once someone filed for office with one party they would need to remain with that party for at least one year. Republican Lake County Clerk Carla Wyckoff ruled against Rudd, and the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.

So he couldn’t be on the ballot as an Independent.

Also on Patch: Coroner Candidate Michael Donnenwirth Fired for Selling Beer Outside Historic Waukegan Theater

The ruling against his Independent candidacy still didn't stop him, however. Rudd now seeks re-election as a "Democratic write-in" candidate. Meaning that if he wins, he will remain as a Democratic officeholder. His name just won't be on the ballot.

Rudd, a Lake Forest resident, has been known nationally for his involvement in two high-profile cases.

In the case of Melissa Calusinski, a daycare worker serving a 31-year prison sentence for first degree murder for the death of a 16-month old boy at a daycare in Lincolnshire in 2009, Rudd overturned his predecessor’s ruling in the manner of death of the boy, stating the way Benjamin Kingan died was “undetermined,” and not via “homicide.” Lawyers for Calusinski have since filed a post conviction petition that seeks to overturn Calusinski’s conviction. That matter remains open in court.

When investigating the death of the disgraced former Fox Lake Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz, it was Rudd who first suggested the death was a suicide and was criticized by investigators. Until investigators confirmed it was a suicide weeks later.

As a write-in candidate, Rudd already has the backing of two high profile Democratic leaders in the county, including the Democratic Party chairman.

“I’m going to support him," State Sen. Terry Link, the Lake County Democratic Party chairman, has told the Daily North Shore. "The two (other) candidates running are both Republicans.”

“I support Dr. Rudd for a second term as Lake County Coroner,” said Matt Stanton, the county’s Democratic nominee for State’s Attorney. Stanton will face Republican incumbent Michael Nerheim in that Lake County race this November.

"Dr. Rudd is a true professional who has done an outstanding job as coroner for Lake County," Stanton added. "He has the courage to stand up for what he believes in and what he knows to be right. Lake County needs him, and I endorse him."

Rudd will be part of the debates too. He will be on stage at the League of Women Voters’ county races debate planned for Sunday, Oct. 23 at the Cultural and Civic Center of Round Lake Beach, facing off with Cooper and Donnenwirth in a public debate set to begin at 3 p.m. He will also be part of another debate set to take place in Lake Forest in October.

Rudd told supporters he will now work on sending postcards to residents of Lake County to educate them on how to vote for a write-in candidate.