Dee Beaubien gets a boost

Dee Beaubien of Barrington Hills, making an independent bid for Illinois House, got some good news Thursday when an Illinois Board of Elections hearing officer said she’d recommend Beaubien not get kicked off the ballot.

Beaubien’s opponent, Republican David McSweeney of Barrington Hills, challenged her candidacy. He argued that because Beaubien signed Republican petitions for the primary, she shouldn’t be allowed to run as an independent in the general election.

McSweeney’s attorney, John Fogarty, said the law expressly prohibits, for example, someone signing Republican primary petitions then running as a Democrat in the general election. He argued that rule should apply to independents, too.

Ultimately, though, a hearing officer sided with Beaubien and will write an official report, soon.

“I kind of am shocked that this early it’s this nasty,” said Beaubien, who’s the wife of the late Republican state Rep. Mark Beaubien.

The two candidates are vying for the 52nd House District, which includes parts of Algonquin, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox River Grove, Island Lake, Lake in the Hills, North Barrington, Oakwood Hills, South Barrington, Trout Valley and Wauconda.

It's not over yet, though.

The final decision will be up to the Board of Elections, which will rule at a future meeting. The board could still decide to side with McSweeney and kick Beaubien off the ballot.

Fogarty said he’d make their argument again to the board and consider appealing if McSweeney loses.

“We’d have to evaluate everything,” he said. “I think our arguments definitely are valid.”

In the primary, McSweeney tried to have both of his Republican opponents removed from the ballot, but lost both of those bids.