Opinion ID: 2219225
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: circuit court's jurisdiction over plaintiffs' complaint

Text: Next, defendant argues that the circuit court did not have jurisdiction over plaintiff's complaint because they failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. Specifically, defendant argues that objections to nomination papers, which defendant contends include statements of economic interests filed in relation to candidacies for elective office under section 10-5 of the Election Code (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 46, par. 10-5), must be brought before and decided by the election authority with whom the nomination papers are on file, in this case the municipal officers electoral board of the City of Harvey, before relief from the courts may be sought (Ill.Rev. Stat.1989, ch. 46, pars. 10-8, 10-9, 10-10, 10-10.1). Plaintiffs assert that the circuit courts, not local election authorities or officials, have original jurisdiction over challenges to the truthfulness, correctness and completeness of statements of economic interests, filed in relation to candidacies for elective office, for the reason that such statements are not part of the nomination papers required to be filed under the Election Code. We agree. As plaintiffs note, it is the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act (Ethics Act) (Ill.Rev. Stat.1989, ch. 127, par. 601-101 et seq. ), not the Election Code, which actually requires candidates for elective office to file statements of economic interests (Ill.Rev.Stat. 1989, ch. 127, par. 604A-101). Secondly, where a candidate's nomination papers and statement of economic interests are not required to be filed with the same officer, as in this case, [2] section 10-5 of the Election Code merely requires the filing, with the officer with whom the nomination papers are filed, of a receipt for the statement of economic interests from the officer with whom the statement of economic interests is filed, within the time by which the nomination papers must be filed. (Ill.Rev.Stat. 1989, ch. 46, par. 10-5.) Thirdly, and most importantly, the Election Code grants the election authority or local election official with whom certificates of nomination and nomination papers or petitions are on file the power and authority to hear objections thereto. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 46, par. 10-8.) Because statements of economic interests are not on file with such election authorities or officials, we conclude that they do not have jurisdiction over challenges to those statements. As such, we will not reverse the appellate court's judgment based on lack of jurisdiction over this cause.