184 Signatures: The Number Deciding Skokie's Next Election
A legal dispute over whether Skokie requires independent or nonpartisan signature counts could keep three candidates off the April 2027 ballot.
By Jack Thompson ·
Three candidates for the Skokie Village Board may lose their place on the April 2027 ballot because of a disagreement over a single number: 184. A local electoral board is currently reviewing objections that claim the candidates failed to gather enough valid signatures to qualify.
The core of the conflict is a split in legal interpretation regarding how many signatures are required. Objectors argue that state law sets the minimum at 5% of the previous vote total, which calculates to 184 signatures. The candidates argue that a 2025 village code change shifted the election type to nonpartisan, which requires a different, potentially lower, signature count.
District 3 Trustee Lissa Levy filed an objection against Samuel Goldstein’s petition on November 12. She alleged that his papers lacked legal and factual sufficiency. Jinskey Jeanpois also challenged Goldstein’s filing, arguing that his petitions were not properly fastened. Rebecca Abraham filed a similar challenge against Madeleine England’s petition.
A fourth objection was filed by Kimberly Polka against Brad Sugar’s petition for District 2. Polka, Levy, and Abraham all claim that Goldstein, England, and Sugar did not obtain enough valid signatures. Specifically, they allege that many signatures came from residents who were not registered voters, not registered at the listed address, not residents of the correct district, or did not sign the documents personally.
The Municipal Officers Electoral Board, composed of Mayor Ann Tennes, Trustee Keith Robinson, and Village Clerk Minal Desai, met at Skokie Village Hall on Thursday, November 12. The board did not make a final decision. Instead, it set a schedule for the parties to submit preliminary motions. The board will meet again at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, to review evidence and potentially rule on the number of signatures required.
Corporation Counsel Stewart Weiss suggested that the candidates and objectors meet with the Cook County Clerk’s Office on Tuesday, November 17. The purpose of this meeting is to audit the validity of the signatures challenged by Levy and Abraham. If the Cook County Clerk upholds every challenge, Goldstein would be left with 138 valid signatures and England with 159, according to public records.
Attorney Andrew Finko, who represents England and Sugar, plans to file a motion to dismiss the objections on Friday, November 13. Finko told the board that Skokie’s 2025 village code mandates a nonpartisan election, not an independent one. He argues this changes the signature requirement. Public records show that Goldstein submitted 156 signatures, England submitted 289, and Sugar submitted 166. All candidates were required to submit these petitions on October 26.
The village website does not currently clarify how many signatures are needed for the Village Board. Other candidates who filed petitions on October 26 did not receive objections. These include Samantha Abraham for District 1, Christopher Whitaker for District 2, Lissa Levy for reelection in District 3, and Edward Olivieri for District 4. Current Trustees Kimani Levy, Alison Pure Slovin, and Jim Iverson are not running for reelection. The mayor, clerk, and At-Large Trustees Keith Robinson and Gail Schechter will not face reelection until 2029.
