Calumet City Clerk Nyota Figgs’ effort to prevent Mayor Thaddeus Jones from reelection was undercut Friday after the city’s Election Board dismissed her claim that he cannot serve as both mayor and as an Illinois state representative.
Figgs said she believes that based on a state Supreme Court ruling on Jones’ eligibility to run in 2021, a referendum not certified until after the election would disqualify him from holding top position in Calumet City government.
However, a Cook County circuit court judge’s refusal earlier this week to substitute aldermen on the board with outside public members meant the decision did not come as a surprise to the clerk, who believes members Ald. Anthony Smith and Ramonde Williams are in Jones’ corner and vote accordingly.
“I was disappointed in the Cook County courts … in allowing Jones to run rampant,” Figgs said. “With him being a state representative and the mayor, he has a lot of political relationships, and I think that is what this is about.”
Smith and Williams, in addition to public member and attorney Thomas Jaconetty who is board chair, agreed a law passed by the Illinois General Assembly renders an earlier passed referendum preventing Calumet City officials from simultaneously being a state representative or senator ineffective.
Jones said the decision affirms what he is already certain of — that running for reelection is within his rights. He is expected to face Ald. James Patton, who sat beside Figgs during Friday’s election board hearings.
“There is nothing they can do to stop me, because state law is clear,” Jones said.
Still pending is an challenge Figgs filed alleging the mayor primarily resides outside of Calumet City. The board granted subpoenas Figgs’ attorneys sought to show Jones lives in South Holland with his wife, not on Paxton Avenue as he claims. The board will hear that challenge at 10 a.m. Dec. 20 at City Hall, 204 Pulaski Ave.
Jones said his residency has been challenged in four elections, and his opponents have yet to prove he lives outside the city’s boundaries. He said the evidence presented by Figgs will lead the board to the same conclusion.
Figgs faced her own residency challenge from Alyssia Benford, an auditor who previously worked for Calumet City. After a flurry of confusion over the evidence presented about Figgs’ home city, Benford’s attorney agreed to withdraw his objection.
Figgs and Jones’ political feud has gone beyond election challenges, with the City Council recently getting involved in a lawsuit brought against Figgs for destroying city records. A majority of the council voted Wednesday on the City Hall front steps to dismiss the lawsuit, though Jones said the action was ineffective because he is the only person with authority over city litigation.
Figgs said if the Election Board fails to remove Jones from the ballot in April, she will appeal the decision through the courts.
“He should have to choose,” Figgs said. “If (the people) want him as a state representative, that’s fine. If they want him as mayor, that’s fine. But he shouldn’t be able to do both.”
