More Top Picks Wusthof Classic 8
player ready...Currently facing voter fraud charges for allegedly casting a ballot for her deceased mother in the March 17 primary election, Waukegan Ald. Sylvia Sims Bolton, 1st Ward, is remaining silent about both her criminal case and her future political plans.
Bolton said “no comment” when asked about both before a status hearing in front of Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim Tuesday.
Nerheim continued the case in Lake County Court in Waukegan for another status hearing on Nov. 2 as the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office has yet to present the case to a grand jury for a possible indictment.
Before Bolton next appears in court, County Clerk Antony Veta said she will have to make a decision about her political future. Candidates for the Waukegan City Council have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 26 to file nominating petitions to run in the Feb. 23 Democratic or Republican primary.
Should Bolton choose to run as an independent in the April 6 aldermanic election, Vega said she has until Nov. 23 to submit nominating petitions.
During a June 1 City Council meeting, Bolton said she was reconsidering a run for reelection next year. Tuesday she declined comment when asked whether she was circulating nominating petitions.
“I am reconsidering not running again for reelection, but we will see,” Bolton said at the June 1 meeting. “I want to say thank you to those who have called me and reached out to me and supported me and shown their concern.”
During the June 1 meeting, Bolton did not specifically talk about the charges against her but did say there were personal issues which had become important to resolve as well as her duties to the residents of the First Ward.
“Not only (do I have) concern on my plate for the city of Waukegan but I want to make you aware I have to address some family crises and issues that is also a top priority,” Bolton said at the meeting.
The charges against Bolton stem from her allegedly casting a vote by mail ballot for the March 17 Democratic primary election on Feb. 26 in the name of her late mother, Mary Sims, who died on Jan. 12.
Sims was living in the same home as Bolton when she died. A vote-by-mail ballot was mailed to Sims on Feb. 5. The clerk’s office was notified of Sims’ death on Feb. 12 through the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Elections voter registration system.
The ballot was deposited in a box outside the clerk’s office on Feb. 26 and was flagged and separated from the other ballots. On March 27, election officials realized the death record was processed before the ballot was returned. It was then confirmed by a Lake County sheriff’s detective.
Appointed to the council in 2017 by then-newly elected Mayor Sam Cunningham after he spent 18 years representing the First Ward, Bolton was elected in 2019 and again in 2023.