Wilson drops challenge to Brown’s mayoral bid, but Preckwinkle stands pat

Businessman Willie Wilson said Tuesday that he is dropping his challenge to the candidacy of rival mayoral hopeful Dorothy Brown because “it’s the right thing to do.” — prompting the Circuit Court clerk to call on frontrunner Toni Preckwinkle to do the same.

“I want to say to the Preckwinkle campaign … now it’s time for them to step up and let the people decide,” Brown said, speaking at Wilson’s news conference.

But Preckwinkle was having none of it.

“This is still about rules,” Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, Preckwinkle’s attorney, said. “[Brown] didn’t follow the rules, and we’re going to see this through to its conclusion.”

Krafthefer said most people who are down as many signatures as Brown would withdraw. The issue now, Krafthefer said, is how much money Brown wants to cost taxpayers by drawing out the process.

Wilson said he’s withdrawing his objections because “it’s the right thing to do.”

“We’ll fight it out in the community, and we’re going to win,” Wilson said.

Preckwinkle’s challenge is the more serious for Brown.

In that case, as of Monday afternoon Brown’s total number of signatures was 1,092 signatures short of the 12,500 needed to be on the ballot, said Jim Allen, spokesman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. That challenge has not yet been resolved.

Records show Wilson’s challenge found Brown down nearly 200 signatures, but his attorney, Andrew Finko, said the entire challenge will be dropped.