Sanders’ Campaign Files Paperwork to Join Illinois Primary Ballot
BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Illinois delegates and supporters delivered petition signatures to the Department of Elections in Springfield on Wednesday to place the senator’s name on the primary election ballot as a Democratic Party candidate for president.Campaign volunteers collected more than 9,000 signatures for Sen. Sanders, nearly triple the required 3,000 and well over the 5,000 maximum turned in. Over 16,000 signatures for delegates were collected across the state’s 18 congressional districts.
The slate of delegates features longtime progressive activists and new voices in the Democratic Party, including Rep. Will Guzzardi, Rep. La Shawn Ford, Chicago Aldermen Susan Sadlowski Garza, John S. Arena, Carlos Rameriz-Rosa, former State Representative Naomi D. Jakobbson and former congressman Philip Hare.
“Right now in Illinois, we’re dealing with a right-wing Republican governor who wants to cut costs for big business and cut wages and services for the rest of us,” said Rep. Guzzardi. “We need Bernie’s values: higher taxes on the ultra-rich, reform of the criminal justice system, and more funding for public education and health care. That’s why there’s been such a massive outpouring of support for Bernie across the Prairie State.”
Congressman Hare said, “Bernie Sanders is the conscience of the United States Senate. His work on behalf of our nation’s veterans, our senior citizens, and the American worker is second to none. Now, more than ever before, we need Bernie Sanders to be our next president.”
In a press conference prior to the filing, Urbana Alderman and local SEUI 119 president Aaron Ammons joined other delegates, National Nurses United and the Working Families Party. “You should definitely be standing with Bernie Sanders because he is the right candidate for America and he is the right candidate for you and the African American community,” said Ammons.
The full list of delegates can be found here.
