Letter to the Editor: Laura Frisch Back on the Ballot

To the Editor--

My name is Laura Frisch, and I am a candidate for the Morton Grove Public Library Board in the April 5 municipal election. In a hearing on Feb. 9, Judge Paul Karkula determined in less than five minutes that the objections to my candidacy, which were submitted by a group calling themselves BPAC, were invalid. Consequently, the Cook County Clerk ordered my name be put back on the ballot. Judge Karkula ruled that this group failed to meet the fundamental elements of an objector’s petition and dismissed the entire objection, overturning the judgment by the Morton Grove Electoral Board of Jan. 12. At that hearing three of the four BPAC candidates failed to show up. The remaining candidate, one Mark Albers, testified, “My interest here is I am a candidate and I do want their (Fahy, Frisch, Levin & Miller) petitions and nomination papers withdrawn even if there aren’t technical errors or gross errors,” according to lines 19-22 of page 15 in the record of proceedings of the Jan. 12 hearing. This comment demonstrates that these BPAC candidates don’t want what’s best for the library or the community. They’ve cost our village thousands of dollars and have been proven wrong in a court of law. Neither Mr. Albers nor any village representatives showed up to the judicial review downtown at the County Court building Feb. 9, which makes me question Mr. Albers and the other BPAC’s fiscal responsibility, since they are so willing to waste taxpayer money on lawsuits that are frivolous.

An appeal such as this is a difficult undertaking, and I don’t fault Renee Miller for not filing for judicial review. Had she filed along with me, the objections to her petitions would also have been dismissed. This ruling shows that these objections should have been dismissed at the beginning of the hearing on Jan. 12 by our Village Electoral Board.   Renee Miller won’t be on the ballot, but as a current and devoted library trustee who has served for 12 years on the board, she will be a write-in candidate. She is committed to our library and our community.

So in the end, the residents of Morton Grove do have a choice, and an opportunity to see what all the candidates stand for. If you would like more information about the independent candidates Bernadette Fahy, Larry Levin, Renee Miller and myself, visit our website at http://www.PROLibraryMG.com.