No rulings yet in the 2027 ballot challenges. Where the Mayor's case and four more ward races stand

Three days into the Board of Elections' hearings on 2027 ballot challenges, we found no reported ruling in any case as of Wednesday morning. The Board's own site, where it posts its docket and decisions, returned an access error to us at 9:36 a.m. Wednesday, as it has since Nov. 2.

Why it matters: a sustained objection removes a candidate from the Feb. 23 ballot. The Board must certify that ballot by Dec. 17, and early voting and mail ballots begin Jan. 14.

This follows Tuesday's stories on the mayor's race and eight challenged alderpersons.

The Mayor's case

Mayor Brandon Johnson's attorney had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file a motion in the two challenges to his petitions, and responses are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday. A conference call Wednesday is to set when the hearing officer hears both, CBS Chicago reported. Meanwhile, election clerks are checking his sheets against the voter rolls in a records exam, ABC7 reported. The challengers say he has fewer than the 12,500 valid signatures required; his campaign says he has more than enough. We'll report the call's outcome when it's public.

Our line counts below come from the petition copies the Board gave us. They are not counts of valid signatures; the Board checks validity only when someone objects, and 473 valid signatures are needed for alderperson.

8th Ward

Ald. Michelle Harris, seeking a sixth term, has four challengers. Two face objections, Block Club Chicago reported Wednesday:

• Yolonda Mack: 1,291 lines.
• Jimmy "Jaye" Jones: 495 lines, 22 above the minimum by our count.

Ruthie Moore and Brittney Gault were not reported as challenged. Harris' petition has 1,955 lines by our count (ward page).

16th Ward

All three people running against Ald. Stephanie Coleman face objections, filed by one person with past ties to Coleman's campaign, according to Board records cited by Block Club. The same objector, with another person, challenged Coleman's opponents in 2022, and those objections removed candidate Otis Woods from the ballot, Block Club reported.

• Shenina Fletcher: 878 lines.
• Cheryl Blackmond: 706 lines.
• Eddie Johnson III: 497 lines on an incomplete copy, so the true line count is likely higher. He lost to Coleman in 2019 and 2023.

Coleman's petition has 3,608 lines (ward page). If all three are removed, she would run unopposed.

25th Ward

Seven people filed, including Ald. Byron Sigcho-López, and two face objections, Block Club reported: Ian Watkins, 495 lines, and Chula Ortiz, 606. Sigcho-López has 1,670 by our count (ward page).

36th Ward

Ald. Gilbert Villegas backs a challenge to the petition of his only opponent, Luis Gomez Jr., and said his team found about 300 faulty signatures, Block Club reported. That is the campaign's claim, not a ruling. Our count of Gomez's petition is 742 lines; Villegas' is 2,182 (ward page).

What our records add

Ten incumbents already had no opponent on the Board's Oct. 30 list (our story). In the 16th and 36th wards, every challenger now faces an objection, which could add two more. The 37th Ward is the opposite case: everyone, incumbent included, is challenged.

Our objections page fills from the Board's list. Until we can reach it, these stories rely on news reports and may miss wards.