Three independents submitted the thousands of signatures needed to get on the November ballot in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, teeing up a rare general election for a federal seat in which candidates from outside the major parties have a real shot.

Each needed to turn in at least 10,816 signatures by the Tuesday deadline. They tackled that tall challenge that typically prevents independents from running in Illinois in order to give voters options in a race they argue has been unfairly handed to the Democratic nominee.

“I think that is really necessary to make sure that democracy functions,” independent candidate Mayra Macías said as she submitted her signatures in Springfield. “We’re seeing multiple independent candidates getting the required signatures because there is an energy for something new.”

All three candidates — Lyons Mayor Chris Getty; Ald. Byron Sigcho-López, an outspoken City Council progressive; and Macías, a former Planned Parenthood Action Fund member with deep ties to the Democratic Party — lambasted the race’s headliner, Patty García, over the controversial way she secured the Democratic nomination.

Outgoing Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García cleared the path for Patty García, his chief of staff, of no family relation, by announcing at the last minute before a November filing deadline that he would not run again. Thanks to the heads-up from her boss, only Patty García had time to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot for the Democratic primary.

“I’m running to give the people a choice in this election,” Getty said on May 18 as he turned in his signatures. “The current congressman took that away from them, and we’re looking to restore that choice.”

But the field is still not set. Candidates have until June 2 to challenge the validity of submitted signatures, a tactic regularly used in Illinois and Chicago politics to boot opponents from the ballot.

The field shrank Monday when candidate Lindsey Church, a former Navy linguist who runs a nonprofit serving minority veterans, dropped out of the race and endorsed Macías.

Church said they collected around 1,500 signatures before health concerns made getting more impossible. But as those signatures were gathered, a top concern became clear. “People do not want to keep doing democracy like this,” Church said.

“They are frustrated and downright mad,” the former candidate said. “This is a moral issue. This is about whether or not our district got a choice in this election. They stole our vote.”

Church called Macías “the most capable of taking on Patty García” and the candidate “I would actually, truly, vocally support,” praising her as someone both capable of running a winning campaign and ready to listen to constituents.

Macías said Church’s endorsement and the signatures she collected signals that they have “momentum on our side” heading into the general election.

During a late April town hall featuring the independent candidates, Getty, Macías and Sigcho-López all said nonviable candidates should drop out to consolidate votes against Republicans and Patty García. Whether anyone actually quits and makes an endorsement could define the race ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

All three candidates say they have a path to victory and reported collecting more than 17,000 signatures — the maximum amount allowed to be submitted.

Sigcho-López said Tuesday that his campaign is built on a coalition frustrated by party politics and government corruption.

“Our campaign has hundreds of volunteers, we also have shown our ability to prove to get our message out,” Sigcho-López said. “We have a movement that is really fueled by the people (with a) track record, delivering, fighting for the 4th Congressional District.”

Macías said her mix of political and community experience and strong messaging positions her as the best candidate in November.

“I’m from the community, I have the experience tactically, I know how to deliver, and what I’m hearing from folks now is that they want people to deliver for them, they want people to fight for them,” Macías said.

Republican Lupe Castillo and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey are also running for the open seat.

Beyond the 4th Congressional District, independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, a former GOP political strategist, announced he received more than 37,000 signatures to appear on the November ballot.

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(O’Connor reported from Springfield.)

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