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* I’ve been telling subscribers about this odd case for a couple of weeks…
A Democratic candidate for the Illinois House filed petitions to run in a district where she doesn’t live because of a DuPage County error, making her ineligible to serve if she is elected, a judge ruled this week.
Val Montgomery, of Naperville, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary in March for a chance to take on Republican state Rep. Grant Wehrli, of Naperville, in the 41st District.
But DuPage County Judge Bonnie Wheaton ruled this week that Montgomery could not be a candidate in the 41st because the apartment building in which she lives — in the 1600 block of Country Lakes Drive — is actually in the 49th House district.
Actually, the judge merely ruled that Montgomery’s voter registration must be changed to the 49th House District. She can’t vote for herself, but she’ll remain on the ballot pending any further state action.
* ABC 7…
Montgomery was hoping to be part of the democrats blue wave and represent the district, which covers the heart of Naperville. She was one of three Naperville women featured on the cover of Time magazine and was challenging Republican incumbent Grant Wehrli. He says a few weeks ago he learned that she did not actually live in the district, and filed a lawsuit on Monday.
“The Illinois constitution has two requirements to run for office, one, you must be 21 and the second is you must live in the district for two years, it is clear that my opponent does not live in the district through no fault of her own,” said State Rep. Grant Wehrli, (R) 41st District. […]
The DuPage County Democratic Party said the decision will be up to Montgomery, but it is exploring options.
“So right now we’re looking for candidates in her district to see if anybody is willing to step up and have their name put on the ballot and if there is my recommendation to Val would be OK, drop out, will get somebody else on there, it’ll be clean we won’t have to worry about any lawsuit later,” said Bob Pieckert, Chairman, Democratic Party of DuPage County.
It doesn’t sound like Montgomery is prepared to drop out, however.
* From her Facebook page…
My opponent doesn’t seem to want to discuss issues or voting records. So, when people show you who they really are, listen.
Political corruption and white privilege are real and happen in too many places.
The only thing I am guilty of is being a black woman in Naperville. This is not the first time a black woman in IL has run for office and suddenly issues with residency emerge.
The NAACP has experience dealing with these kinds of things and will be helping so I can focus on the voters.
Please Vote Val, more now than ever- we women need to vote!
Also, while Time magazine did feature her on its cover, the House Democrats haven’t done anything in that district.
“A single building was miscoded with information for a different representative district. It should have been coded for the 49th and it was coded for for the 41st district,” [Pat Bond, general counsel for the DuPage County Election Commission] said. “(It) could have been information that was provided, or in that instance somebody might have just transposed (a) number wrong, altering the coding.”
Montgomery ran for office believing her address was in the 41st legislative district, based on information provided by the county, he said.
The coverage so far is missing two things. After the DuPage County Election Commission miscoded her address last year, it corrected the mistake in late March. Then it moved her back into the wrong district after Montgomery complained. The judge made the commission move her back. This all runs counter to the national narrative of white Republican counties attempting to disenfranchise black candidates. After the initial flub, DuPage deliberately put her into the wrong district so she could run for office. But that clearly violated the law and a judge put her foot down.
* The other thing everyone else is missing is this claim by the Illinois Republican Party…
Records from the 382nd Judicial District Court of Rockwall County, Texas show Val Montgomery, current Democrat candidate for state representative in the 41st District, was indicted by a grand jury on two charges of forgery of a financial instrument, both felonies, in 2007. All documentation can be found at the recently launched website www.valmontgomeryreport.com.
“The grand jury indictment is clear: Montgomery intentionally forged checks from someone else’s account for over $6,000 with the intent to defraud,” Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling said. “Worse yet, she still hasn’t answered for these charges. Prosecutors spent five years trying to track her down, even enlisting the help of the FBI, but were forced to drop the case in 2012 without justice being served due to a lack of resources.”
During the same time period authorities actively sought her for the forgery charges, Montgomery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and escaped her creditors. Documents also show Montgomery, who claims to have college degrees in Accounting and Business Administration, never earned a degree from Missouri Western State University or DeVry University, the two schools she has publicly claimed an affiliation with.
Oof.
The website is here. Montgomery’s only response to me was that Facebook page post above.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:06 am
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So her campaign is now about “Political corruption and white privilege”. I guess the forgery charges call into question her claims of …” Val has been entrusted by various corporations to help maintain their fiscal health”
Comment by Texas Red Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:18 am
If Montgomery is elected, the local prosecutor or any voter in the district could bring a quo warranto law suit, which asks by what right do you hold this office? This would likely result in her ouster because of her non-residence in the district. There would then be a vacancy that would be filled by an appointment by the Dem. Co. Chairs in the District.
Comment by Johnny Justice Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:20 am
She is not the only candidate who was mis-districted. Last Fall, then State House candidate Heidi Henry collected a full set of signatures to run in the 75th House district before she learned she and her neighbors had been voting in the wrong district. Fortunately, she had time to recirculate her petitions.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:21 am
It does not surprise me that the DuPage County Election Commission is involved in getting things screwed up. This is nothing new. Last election they had a computer problem, they bought some new product that did not work with their existing computers at the polling places. It was discovered after the polls closed. They should have at least tested it BEFORE the election.
Comment by DuPage Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:27 am
==Actually, the judge merely ruled that Montgomery’s voter registration must be changed to the 49th House District. She can’t vote for herself, but she’ll remain on the ballot pending any further state action.==
Because Jesse White’s AVR …..
Comment by Duopoly Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:27 am
I think it’s important to consider how likely she would be elected in the first place. (Channeling my inner Mike Sneed: Methinks she was a long shot anyway).
Comment by Colin O'Scopy Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:31 am
It’s easy to for a local election authority to miscode parcels as they try to read the the legal description of the state redistricting. PA 97-0006 created the current districts and for each district is a lengthy list of census tracts and blocks. It isn’t hard to find a block gets misplaced, especially in an area where the district doesn’t follow the natural line of a township, highway or river. Usually it is only corrected when a candidate brings the error to the attention of the local authority.
There are other sources where a candidate can check their actual registration. The State Board of Election has a look up tool on their website. Also, Illinois House Democrats redistricting website from 2011 is still active and has a Google map of all the state districts. If the address for Ms. Montgomery is searched at either of those sites it shows the location as the 49th district.
Comment by muon Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 11:52 am
We don’t really know how often this happens.
Remember the Virginia district that tied last year? There were other races there where dozens and dozens had been mysteriously coded into the wrong district for state house races.
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 12:23 pm
“The only thing I am guilty of is…”
Not sure this was such a great choice of words for someone with a warrant out of Texas for financial fraud or claims to have college degrees who doesn’t.
Comment by Flat Bed Ford Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 2:12 pm
Rich - Do you mean the Blue Flush?
Comment by NormalNews Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 3:27 pm
Stay on the ballot- sue the DuPage Election commission. Bring suit immediately keep your name in the headlines then when Wehrli’s suit actually has it’s day in court you can really blast them and maybe even have Wehrli’s case give you just cause. He’s already said in the news article “through no fault of her own”.
Comment by DuPage Bard Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 4:44 pm
@FakeGrantWehrli - Phonies like me get phony candidates with sham addresses and pro-Madigan attacks. Something-Something, “Frank Mautino”, (phony conservative tag line) #Troll
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 24, 18 @ 4:47 pm
Your copy-pasta of House Republican claims without asking the candidate about them seems ridiculously irresponsible. I have worked with National Student Clearinghouse data in the past and it is notoriously bad at tracking graduation data, especially prior to 2012 and especially for minorities. Also, seems like her decision to stay in the race would indicate that these forged checks were a case of mistaken identity or identity theft or some other reasonable explanation. Why don’t you check it out then write a new post.
Comment by DuPage49 Wednesday, Sep 26, 18 @ 9:18 am