Candidate conflict brewing in Skokie as trustee, residents file objections

Skokie is still months away from the election that will decide the newest members of its Village Board, but objections recently raised against three candidates’ petitions may soon decide who even makes the ballot. 

A Municipal Officers Electoral Board convened at Skokie Village Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12, to review a challenge District 3 Trustee Lissa Levy submitted against the “legal and factual sufficiency” of the papers candidate Samuel Goldstein filed last month to compete in District 3.

The board reviewed an additional challenge Jinskey Jeanpois submitted against Goldstein’s candidate filing, and a challenge Rebecca Abraham submitted against the “legal and factual sufficiency” of the papers candidate Madeleine England filed last month to compete in District 3. 

The board — which comprises Mayor Ann Tennes, Trustee Keith Robinson and Village Clerk Minal Desai — made no formal determinations on Thursday and only set a schedule for the various parties to submit preliminary motions.  

A fourth objection was submitted by Kimberly Polka against the nomination papers candidate Brad Sugar filed to compete in District 2 in the upcoming April 2027 consolidated election, when four Skokie Village Board trustee seats will be up for new terms. 

Levy’s, Abraham’s and Polka’s objections all allege that Goldstein, England and Sugar respectively did not obtain enough valid signatures to qualify for the upcoming election. Jeanpois’ objection alleges Goldstein did not properly fasten his submitted petitions.

Levy’s and Abraham’s objections both allege that Goldstein’s and England’s respective petitions contain a disqualifying number of signatures from residents who are either not registered voters, not registered at the address listed on the petition, not residents of District 3, or the residents did not personally sign the petition themselves.

Skokie’s Corporation Counsel Stewart Weiss on Thursday suggested the candidates and objectors meet with the Cook County Clerk’s Office next Tuesday, Nov. 17, to audit the validity of the various signatures Levy and Abraham challenged on Goldstein’s and England’s respective petitions.

The Skokie Municipal Officers Electoral Board will meet again at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, to potentially review the Cook County Clerk’s rulings, weigh evidence and arguments from the parties, and ultimately decide how many signatures are needed to get on the April 2027 ballot.

The question of how many signatures Skokie requires candidates obtain in order to run for the Village Board apparently is unclear and goes unaddressed on the village website.

Levy’s, Abraham’s and Polka’s objections all argue that, pursuant to state law, independent candidates must obtain a number of signatures equal to at least 5% of the number of people who voted in their district in the previous election. That number, they argue, is 184. 

If the Cook County Clerk’s Office upholds each and every challenge from Levy and Abraham, then Goldstein would be left with 138 valid signatures and England with 159, documents obtained from a public records request show. 

Andrew Finko, an attorney representing candidates England and Sugar, however, said Skokie’s village code, which was reformed in 2025, mandates that all candidates run in a “non-partisan election” instead of an “independent election.” 

A nonpartisan election requires candidates to obtain a different number of signatures than what the objectors claim is the minimum, Finko argued. He informed the Skokie electoral board he intends to file a motion on Friday, Nov. 13, dismissing the objections. 

All candidates seeking to run for Skokie Village Board were required to submit their petitions on Oct. 26. Goldstein’s petition included 156 signatures, England’s included 289 signatures and Sugar’s included 166 signatures, documents obtained from a public records request show. 

Other candidates filed and did not receive objections to their petitions, a village website shows. Those includes Samantha Abraham running for District 1, Christopher Whitaker running for District 2, Levy running for reelection in District 3 and Edward Olivieri running for District 4.

District 1 Trustee Kimani Levy, District 2 Trustee Alison Pure Slovin and District 4 Trustee Jim Iverson reportedly are not running for reelection.

The mayor, clerk and At-Large Trustees Robinson and Gail Schechter are not up for reelection until 2029.

Stay tuned to TheRecordNorthShore.org as this story develops.

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