UPDATED: Appellate Court Keeps Spinney on Ballot

Jennifer Spinney remains on the April 5 ballot as a Winnetka village trustee candidate following an appellate court decision handed down Thursday.

The decision affirmed a Cook County Circuit Court ruling that Spinney had exactly 290 valid signatures on her nominating petitions, which is the required number. Spinney filed as an independent candidate after she was not slated by the Winnetka Caucus, and Richard Kates, a caucus-backed candidate, in December.

Spinney, who has served as a trustee for the past two years, said she is happy with the decision and is ready to begin her campaign.

"If [Kates] were to decide to go on to the [state] Supreme Court, it's highly unlikely he would get anywhere," Spinney said.

Kates said the appellate court did not address the "fact issues involved in the case," whether signatures could be deemed valid if they were not from registered voters or did not have corresponding addresses that match voter registration records.

"They didn't get into the heart of what they should have gotten into," Kates said.

"If somebody can say they're a registered voter, it's like someone saying they have a driver's license and they can't produce the license and the secretary of state's office doesn't have a record of it. It's the same thing here," Kates said.

Kates alleged Spinney's nominating petitions had invalid signatures. Spinney turned in 34 more signatures than the 290 required, but .

Following a determination by a local election board that Spinney had enough signatures to remain on the ballot, Kates requested a judicial review of the proceedings by the Cook County Circuit Court. At a hearing Feb. 22 at the Daley Center in Chicago, a judge ruled Spinney had the required 290 valid signatures on her petitions.

 Kates challenged the court's decision in appellate court. The appellate court reviewed and based its ruling on the record of the local electoral board hearing.

"This court case is not meant to avoid any exchange of opinions," Kates said, referring to criticism that his objections are limiting voters' options. "It's not meant to keep [Spinney] out. If something may be wrong, it's not a question of not being neighborly."

In addition to Kates, the Winnetka Caucus slated candidates Arthur Braun and Linda Pedian, a current trustee.