Dart rival tossed from primary ballot
A top political rival of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart was thrown off the Democratic primary ballot Wednesday due to a controversial new law that requires anyone running for sheriff to be a certified law enforcement officer.
The removal of Carmen Navarro Gercone from the June 28 ballot leaves Chicago police Officer Noland Rivera as Dart’s sole remaining primary opponent, though Navarro Gercone vowed to appeal the case in the courts. The county’s electoral board voted 2-1 to uphold an objection to her candidacy by Dart’s campaign.
Navarro Gercone rose to the rank of first assistant executive director in the sheriff ’s office under Dart, overseeing 1,300 employees in courthouse security, evictions and other operations. Now a top official in the Cook County circuit court clerk’s office, she previously was a sergeant, a lieutenant and an assistant chief at the sheriff ’s office.
But she never has worked as a certified police officer, as defined in a littleknown provision in Illinois’ sweeping criminal justice reform legislation that provided Dart’s campaign with enough room to challenge her qualifications in its effort to get her knocked off the ballot.
Tucked into the end of the 700-page reform bill, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021, was a new requirement that all candidates for sheriff be certified law enforcement officers, starting this year. Sitting sheriffs such as Dart were exempted.
The electoral board that made the ruling was staffed by designees from three countywide officeholders — Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough and Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez, who has endorsed Navarro Gercone. The designees for Foxx and Yarbrough voted to have Navarro Gercone removed while Martinez’s designee voted to have Navarro Gercone remain on the ballot.
Jessica Scheller, Foxx’s electoral board designee, argued the board must follow the rule of law as written in the SAFE-T Act. Scheller said her decision also will uphold the authority of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, which decided Navarro Gercone did not meet the new law’s qualifications for sheriff.
“While the candidate through her counsel has argued that the act should not be applied here as it is vague, we as a board are governed by state law and must endeavor to give effect,” Scheller said.
Edmund Michalowski, Yarbrough’s designee, agreed but did not elaborate.
Gloria Chevere, Martinez’s designee, said Navarro Gercone should remain on the ballot because she had received FBI National Academy certification, which Chevere said should suffice under the law.
“Electoral boards in Illinois courts have always favored ballot access, so that deference must be given to the candidate’s right to run for public office,” Chevere said.
Martinez had drawn criticism from Dart’s campaign for not recusing herself or her designee because in addition to endorsing her she also is Navarro Gercone’s current boss.
After the vote, Navarro Gercone castigated state legislators for “changing the law in the middle of the night.” She also criticized Cook County Democrats, who are backing Dart, for instilling a party loyalty pledge back in December that tilted the odds against her.
“In the 191(-year) history of the sheriff ’s office, there has never been a woman, and all the stops have been pulled to prevent one from being on the ballot in this case as well,” she said.
Dart’s campaign has said previously that it was not involved in crafting the provision and didn’t even know about until the legislation passed. Still, on Wednesday, Dart campaign spokesman Joe Ryan said, “The law is clear. Candidates running for sheriff must meet certain law enforcement qualifications. After challenging the law and presenting her qualifications Carmen Gercone was ultimately disqualified.”
One of the chief sponsors of the legislation, state Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat, told the Tribune in February that the controversial provision was added to the SAFE-T Act at the behest of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association. But he did acknowledge there have “been several questions, which I think to be honest with you need to be sorted out.”
According to state records, it wasn’t until late last year, after the new law was signed, that Dart received a law enforcement certification, despite being grandfathered in under the new measure. Dart has been sheriff since 2006. He previously was a prosecutor, state lawmaker and chief of staff to former Sheriff Michael Sheahan.
Besides Navarro Gercone, two other Democratic sheriff contenders also have been knocked off the ballot following challenges to their nominating petitions: Kirk Ortiz, a deputy sheriff, and LaTonya Ruffin, a former south suburban police officer. Another candidate hoping to unseat Dart is sheriff’s office Sgt. Brad Sandefur, who is running as a Libertarian.