A petition filed by five voters seeks to bar former President Donald Trump from the Illinois Republican primary election ballot in March. The objection claims he is ineligible to hold office because he encouraged and did little to stop the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. The petition filed Thursday with the Illinois State Board of Elections is similar to those filed in other states. It relies on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits anyone from holding office who has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and later “engaged in insurrection" against the U.S.
