Lake County Gazette

Lake County resident George Weckbacher recently took his cry for fair elections before the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE).

“I just want to ensure we have a stable system that’s utilized throughout the state,” said Weckbacher, who met with board officials on June 15. “I feel that the State Board of Elections should be monitoring the local jurisdiction with better oversight than what they’re doing.”

Weckbacher’s stance comes at a time when the issue of fair elections is a hot topic across the country and not long after ISBE executive director Steve Sandvoss was placed on paid administrative leave just before the April 6 consolidated elections.

Just hours before voters were set to go the polls, state election officials unanimously voted to sideline Sandvoss after he was forced to admit he’d been the target of an online extortion scheme. Sandvoss has served as the state’s top election official for the last six years.

Authorities later described their actions as a “cautionary step” that came "out of an abundance of caution."

Thus far, state officials have been tight-lipped about why they think Sandvoss was targeted and have not said much about what the scheme consisted of other than to say it seemed typical as online scams go, and "there is no reason to believe that any election data or information has been compromised," even though the attempted scam took place right before an election.

State police said their investigation into the matter is ongoing and in Sandvoss' absence the board installed assistant executive director Bernadette Matthews in the role of acting director.