May 18, 2024
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La Salle County ballot dispute moved to July 23

GOP chairman mulling over options after adverse ruing

By Tom Collins

A line forms to place ballots into a voting machine at the Oglesby Elks. The machine at the Elks was down but judges still collected the ballots and they will be fed through a machine at the La Salle County Courthouse in Ottawa. (Scott Anderson)

The chairman of the La Salle County Republican Central Committee is apparently weighing his options before he pays sanctions following the failed effort to overturn the race for La Salle County state’s attorney.

Friday, Sandwich attorney William Hotopp asked for a week to reply on behalf of Larry Smith, chairman of the county GOP. Judge Scott M. Belt agreed and scheduled a new hearing for 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 23.

As previously reported, Smith asked to void mail-in votes and reverse the November outcome for state’s attorney. Belt dismissed Smiths’ challenge and imposed sanctions for unsubstantiated allegations made against La Salle County Clerk Lori Bongartz.

“My client has several decisions to make,” Hotopp advised during a Friday morning Zoom hearing before Belt.

Hotopp further requested an in-person hearing in Morris, as, “We may have some witnesses.”

That would suggest one of Smith’s options is to fight the sanctions and/or lay the groundwork to appeal Belt’s dismissal and sanctions.

Around Thanksgiving, Smith disputed the handling of Nov. 3 mail-in ballots and sought to overturn not only the state’s attorney race, won by Democrat Todd Martin, but also the statehouse post retained by Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa). The portion challenging Yednock’s win later was withdrawn.

Earlier this month, Belt granted Bongartz a motion to dismiss and ordered Smith to reimburse her for a portion of her legal fees, later tabulated at $3,570.50.

Also Friday, La Salle County Democrats issued a statement calling the GOP’s ongoing action a “misuse taxpayer dollars” and “an ongoing political circus.”

“The La Salle County Democrats stand firmly against corruption and call for its swift end regardless of partisanship,” the Democrats said in a statement. “The handling of the La Salle County election results in 2020, however, was legal, appropriate, and accurate. It’s a clear example of government and the electoral process working exactly as they should: in the interests of the people and according to their wishes.

“That Republican leadership in La Salle County continues to use misinformation to prey on voters and perpetuate conspiracy theories is bad faith and only undermines what could be productive bipartisan dialogue.”