Our Correction to the Beacon’s 2013 Review –

PARIS, IL. (ECWd) –

In an article in today’s Paris Beacon News meant to remind people of some of the more significant things that happened locally, there was one piece in particular that we have an issue with, and that is with the write-up on the electoral board.

While we would love to claim our place in history as the ones that compelled the Edgar County Electoral Board to convene for the first time in Edgar County history, we cannot accept that honor without changing this significant historical moment in history. We do not wish to strip the honor from the person who rightfully earned it…pen her name in the history books, she deserves the honor.

Actual Historic Moment: Sandra Neal

The honor of compelling the convening of the electoral board for the first time in history belongs to Sandra Neal (Article Here) who filed the first petition objection compelling the county clerk to call a meeting of the electoral board. Her objection was that a candidate circled “city” instead of “unincorporated area” on his statement of candidacy.

Staples vs Paperclips?
No! – It Was So Much More!

 There were petition objections alleging improper fastening, but there were also petition objections alleging a pattern of fraud and perjury, in that some signatures were not genuine and the petition circulator signed under penalty of perjury that they were genuine. What ended up happening with some  was the voluntary withdrawal of those petitions by the candidates after a key individual failed to report and ignored a legally served and binding summons. The improper fastening objections were over ruled by the board.

$5000 for staples vs paperclips – WOW!

This is the lie that Chris Patrick tried passing off during a public meeting while openly mocking the electoral process. As you have read above, it was much more than just staples vs paperclips.

Well over $4000 of that approximately $5000 price tag was, in our opinion, illegally paid to the “board attorney”, in that there was no court order authorizing the state’s attorney to hire him in the first place. This is a requirement. It was not followed. See these articles for an explanation: (etsb1, etsb2, recovered funds)

Petition Objection Article

Other articles on the Electoral Board

All of the supporting documents are within the above articles.