The Tinley Together slate of candidates challenging incumbent village officials said Friday they will file a court appeal after their nominating petitions for the April 1 ballot were declared invalid.
The group said Friday a Tinley Park Electoral Board ruled their petitions were not valid because of the inclusion of six small American flag images on their nominating petitions.
The Electoral Board voted 2-1 to nullify the nominating papers, said Village Clerk Nancy O’Connor.
Village Trustee William Brennan chaired the panel, and also hearing the matter were board members Mathias Delort and Paul Karkula. Delort voted to overturn the petition objection.
Michael Maloney is Tinley Together’s candidate for mayor, and filed to challenge incumbent Mayor Michael Glotz.
“We will not let this ruling silence us,” Maloney said in a news release. “This calculated effort to suppress democracy and block legitimate challengers only strengthens our resolve.”
A copy of the objection heard by the panel was not immediately available, and the village required the Southtown to file a Freedom of Information Act request for it.
Maloney was not immediately available Monday for comment, and it was not clear whether a court appeal had been filed.
Maloney is running with clerk candidate Cynthia “Cindy” O’Boyle, wife of Bernie O’Boyle, vice president of the Tinley Park-Park Board. Trustee candidates Melissa Sanfilippo, Eric Schmidt and Matthew Walsh are also part of the Tinley Together group.
Maloney is the former president of Pipefitters Local 597 and was named by the Tinley Park-Park-District last year to oversee remediation of the 280-acre former Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which the Park District plans to redevelop for recreation uses.
Tinley Park officials had hoped to gain ownership of the state property, which was sold to the Park District for $1. Village plans included retail and entertainment uses.
Running with Glotz on the One Tinley Park ticket are Clerk O’Connor and trustees William Brady, Dennis Mahoney and Colleen Sullivan.
Glotz, elected in April 2021, is a member of Operating Engineers Local 150.
Brady was first elected in 2017 and Mahoney and Sullivan in April 2021. O’Connor was appointed village clerk in January 2022 and elected in April 2023.
