Accusations of favoritism and election misconduct are swirling around Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega, as Shields Township Chairman Dan Rogers accuses him of ignoring clear violations to shield Democrat operatives during a tense recount.
Rogers says Vega has refused to act after photos were taken inside a secure ballot counting area despite explicit bans on phones and photography.
“We went to the ballot challenge, the clerk is Anthony Vega, and the people we were challenging were Democrats, and he’s tried to wash this under the table, but they took pictures of us, the Democrats did, and then they distributed them,” Rogers told Lake County Gazette.
The dispute has drawn attention to the protocols surrounding ballot challenges, the handling of secure election materials and the responsibilities of election officials like Vega to enforce rules consistently regardless of party affiliation.
Rogers said he confronted Vega directly, emphasizing that the photograph violated both the rules of the secured area and state law, but initially received no decisive action from Vega.
“I said, ‘hey, this is a secured area with open ballots, and you made an announcement we got in here, no phones and no photographs and this woman took photographs and distributed them,” he said. “And I gave him the state statute and everything, and I go, You need to go after this woman. And he kept putting it off and kept putting it off, and finally I went after him in writing.”
Rogers said he initially hoped the Clerk’s Office would address the issue internally, but he became increasingly frustrated by Vega’s inaction.
“It clearly shows that his office is not being, you know, operated and the ballot challenges are not being done, you know, cleanly and properly. I mean they’re not,” he said.
The incident, which occurred during the April 1 election, involved Kathleen Blahunka and her mother, Jan Schnobrich. Both of who were removed from the ballot after a township employee challenged their nomination papers for missing a full home address.
Schnobrich, a longtime township critic, is often active alongside her daughter at Shields Township meetings.
Meanwhile, Michelle Parnell of the Shields Township Unity Party won election to the Shields Township Trustee Board At-large on April 1.
“These two women got kicked off the ballot because they couldn’t follow the proper protocol. So shame on them. Now they have a vendetta against everyone who was on the ballot and won the election,” Parnell told the Lake County Gazette. “It’s a little township position that’s supposed to approve roads, but they have to occupy way too much time at every meeting, causing trouble and standing up there with lie after lie.”
Parnell was one of those pictured in the photograph.
“I’ve made several several calls to Anthony Vega,” Parnell said. “First off, I don’t appreciate my photograph being taken without me knowing about it in an area where photographs are not allowed, and we were verbally told that they weren’t allowed. I don’t appreciate having cameras where there are live ballots. And the woman thinks that she can just take pictures wherever she wants to. So after this is pursued, a harassment charge is gonna be pursued.”
Parnell said she believes Vega has failed to uphold election rules.
“These two women just can’t go around taking pictures, causing commotion, and lying about what we are doing, what we’re not doing, and where we’re supposed to be when they really have no authority to do so,” she said.
Rogers echoed Parnell’s frustration, saying Vega only responded after he threatened to go public.
“He keeps putting it off and we keep giving him an opportunity to do what’s right,” Rogers said. “And he just isn’t doing it. He’s trying to just make it go away so he doesn’t have to go after these Democrats.”
Rogers said that only after he threatened to go public did Vega respond.
“When I finally told him I was going to the press, then he said, ‘Oh, I better do something here,’” Rogers said.
In a formal email response, Vega confirmed receipt of Rogers’ complaint and said he had contacted the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. In response to Rogers’ concerns over the issue, Vega tried to explain away the inaction.
“The issue in this case is that no one reported the picture taken until well after the conclusion of the proceeding and only when the people involved revealed their actions at a public meeting in Shields Township,” Vega wrote in an email.
Vega stated that digital copies of the check-in logs and emails with instructions were preserved and reiterated that photography was prohibited in the training room.
“As far as to the request for all CCTV/security footage: There are no cameras in the training room,” Vega wrote.
Vega also clarified that while courthouse rules prohibit photography, the training room is not considered part of the courthouse. He added that additional signage and removal from proceedings are potential measures for future sessions.
But Rogers still criticized Vega’s lack of enforcement and described the photograph as evidence of both election law violations
“There definitely is [a violation],” he said. “And it’s too bad there’s nobody running against Vega because this would be pretty damning. And he’s basically, I tell him right in here, I give him the statutes, I give him everything. Why aren’t you going to state attorney? Why aren’t you calling the Illinois Board of Elections? This woman went into a classified area and took pictures, and you can see the ballots stacked in the background on this photo. And by the way, that’s four Republicans standing there talking to Vega.”
He said targeted harassment from Democrat operatives has continued.
“Now they’re harassing us at the board level of Shields Township,” Rogers said. “So they’re making all these allegations that are bullshit. But that doesn’t matter. This is just showing the harassment.”
The two also went to Lake Forest and Shields Township, claiming $600,000 in funds were missing and implying they had more information than the township’s CPA firm and attorneys.
“These two, these two just cause so much trouble, meeting after meeting after meeting,” Parnell said. “And it’s all unnecessary and it’s all lies.”
Vega was sworn in as Lake County’s 16th County Clerk on Dec. 1, 2022. He oversees elections, maintains land and vital records, manages business filings and tax extensions and serves as Clerk to the County Board.
Previously, he was Chief of Staff to Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg, a Democrat, and worked in advocacy and organizing for Democrat and leftist causes.
“When he was elected, Anthony became the first Latino Lake County Clerk, and the first openly LGBTQ+ candidate to win a countywide office,” his campaign website reads.
