Electoral board removes Reed, Rye Sanders from Carbondale City Council election

The Carbondale Municipal Officers Electoral Board decided on Dec. 10 to remove sitting Councilwoman Ginger Rye Sanders and candidate Ryan Reed from the ballot for Carbondale Consolidated Election April 1, 2025.

Former Councilman Navreet Kang filed grievances against the candidates as well as LaCage Hill, another incumbent councilmember, for procedural violations in their candidacy paperwork. According to Illinois state law, the paperwork was not properly bound and both candidates were missing a statement of economic interest, a document which discloses a public officials’ assets and income in order to provide transparency into their personal stakes in economic or business issues.

The elections board, consisting of Mayor Carolin Harvey, City Clerk Jennifer Sorrell and Councilman Adam Loos, met twice on Dec. 10 to hear objections to Reed and Rye Sanders. The board also met once on Dec. 2, during which Hill was also removed from the ballot, but due to a failure to notify the public about the hearing, the decision was rendered moot and the board will meet again at a later date to hear the case publicly. Reed and Rye Sanders both represented themselves, but Attorney Darrell Dunham represented Kang, as he is currently in India.

In Reed’s hearing, the facts of the case were not in dispute, but he argued that he was in substantial compliance with the law, meaning that while he was in violation of the law, it was quickly corrected and there was no ill intent behind it. Dunham then argued that in no preceding case had the statement of economic interest been considered eligible for substantial compliance.




https://dailyegyptian.com/119909/features/latest-news/electoral-board-removes-reed-rye-sanders-from-carbondale-city-council-election/