Illinois: 2 Democratic candidates quit race because of Hatch Act
The Chicago Tribune reports: Rather than lose their jobs at the Elgin Mental Health Center, two Kane County Board candidates abandoned their Democratic candidacies this week after being warned their status as federal workers bars them from running.
The reluctant withdrawal of Michael Lowery of North Aurora and Willie Clements of Elgin on Tuesday, a week before the Nov. 7 election, will not deter the Kane County Democratic Organization from trying to defeat the Republicans running for the posts, said Chairman Mark Guethle on Wednesday. ...
They were challenging incumbent Republicans for County Board when they were alerted last week by an ethics officer with their longtime employer, the state Department of Human Services, to either quit their partisan campaigns for office or give up their jobs at the Elgin Mental Health Center.
Because the state-run center is partly funded with federal money, Lowery and Clements are precluded from running for partisan office because they technically are federal employees, Guethle said. -- 2 Democrats quit Kane races to keep jobs | Chicago Tribune