State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi won’t be running for re-election in the 43rd District, but his name will appear on ballots for the March primary election.
Wilhelmi, who represents the 43rd district, recently announced he is stepping down this month to take a job with the Illinois Hospital Association. However, the Joliet Democrat said Feb. 3 that it would be premature to take his name off the ballot because the legalities of removing his name have yet to be determined.
In the end, he was running unopposed in the March 20 primary to be the Democratic candidate in November. (The Democratic party will now decide on a replacement.)
The ballots were slated to be printed in late January, but printing was delayed due to a candidacy challenge in the 11th Congressional district, said Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots.
She and other county clerks postponed ballot printing for a Feb. 2 decision by the Illinois State Board of Elections on whether to allow a candidate to run on the ballot for the 11th Congressional District. (The board opted to remove John “Jack” Cunningham, the Kane County clerk, from the ballot as a Republican candidate.)
Voots said the Congressional district debate allowed for a window for Wilhelmi to remove his name, but now it’s too late as ballots were sent to the printer on Feb. 2. Regardless, the deadline for another candidate to get the March ballot has also long passed.
Ballots were scheduled to start being sent to military voters last week, Voots said. The clerk’s office will begin mailing absentee ballots Feb. 9.
Wilhelmi, 43, who plans to start his lobbying job at the hospital association later this month, said he does not plan to run for re-election. In 2005, Wilhelmi was tapped to fill the senate seat replacing now-Will County Executive Larry Walsh.
Once Wilhelmi determines what date he plans to resign, the Will County Democratic party has 30 days to appoint a replacement, said county party chairman Dennis Grosskopf.
Grosskopf said he’s already received inquiries from interested individuals, but that a formal deadline for applicants has yet to be set. However, he is accepting letters of interest, along with resumes, sent to the Will County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 4242, Joliet, IL 60436.
Since the current 43rd district boundaries are within one county, Grosskopf said he and two precinct committeemen, nominated by Grosskopf and voted on by the central committee, would decide on Wilhelmi’s replacement.
However, the new boundaries for the 43rd district includes parts of DuPage County. As a result, Grosskopf said state rules allow for himself and DuPage County Democratic Chairman Bob Peickert to chose who will replace Wilhelmi on the November ballot.
There are three requirements for serving in the legislature. An individual must be 21 years old, a U.S. citizen and have lived in the district for at least two years.
