McHenry County judge dismisses lawsuit aimed at reversing removal of Algonquin Township abolition measure from April ballot

Voters in Algonquin Township are unlikely to decide this April whether to keep the local township government intact or get rid of it after a Wednesday court decision.

A McHenry County judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to reverse the township electoral board’s decision this month to remove the referendum question from the ballot, upholding an objection made by Randy Funk, a candidate for Algonquin Township supervisor.

Funk had raised concerns to the electoral board about 193 of the 533 signatures collected in support of the petition. It needed at least 445 valid signatures from township voters to remain on the ballot.

The lawsuit was filed last week by Melissa Sanchez-Fischer, a resident of the township who helped collect voter signatures in a petitioning effort to certify the ballot measure asking to abolish the township and its associated road district.

The goal was to overturn a decision to remove the question from the ballot made by the Algonquin Township electoral board, composed of township Supervisor Chuck Lutzow, Clerk Karen Lukasik and Trustee Daniel Shea.

But the merits of Sanchez-Fischer’s lawsuit were not considered in the ruling by Judge Kevin Costello to toss the case.

Costello dismissed the suit because the complaint was addressed to the wrong party when it was served to defendants via certified mail, according to Michael Cortina, a Crystal Lake-based attorney who represented Funk.

The service was addressed to the Algonquin Township Electoral Board, but not Algonquin Township. The suit named as defendants the board, Funk and McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio, who played a role in the initial certification of the ballot measure before Funk raised his objection.

Sanchez-Fischer was represented by attorney Rob Hanlon, who also handles legal work for the Algonquin Township Road District. An attempt to reach Hanlon Thursday was unsuccessful.

Cortina said he is confident his client’s objection and the board’s decision to grant it would have held up if the lawsuit’s arguments would have been considered as part of the judge’s decision, had it not been for the addressing error.

“I wouldn’t have filed this objection if I didn’t think the evidence was clear and correct that they didn’t have enough valid signatures to get the referendum on the ballot,” Cortina said.

The deadline for new petitions to be circulated for signatures and certified for ballots has already passed for April’s township election, Tirio said.

The only way for the ballot measure to make its way to voters now would be through a court order, he said.

Bob Anderson, a McHenry Township trustee who helped gather signatures in support of the petition, said Thursday he was unaware of whether Costello’s ruling would be appealed. Anderson is a longtime advocate of eliminating township governments, and has sought to shrink and abolish McHenry Township while on its board.

“It’s a terrible day for the Algonquin Township voters. It’s a victory for the township cronyism when they can fix the outcome of a petition like this,” Anderson said.