“Jolly” Mitch Davilo, captain of the Pirate National Committee, has confirmed that he intends to seek ballot access under the Pirate Party label after announcing earlier this month that he will pursue municipal office in Illinois.
The update was discussed during the Pirate National Committee’s July 12 meeting and later included in a post-meeting wrap-up after technical issues prevented the party from producing a recording of its live feed. In the wrap-up, Davilo said his campaign is expected to formally launch in August and that he would seek a spot on the ballot under the new Midlothian Pirate Party label.
Midlothian municipal candidates may appear on the ballot with local political party designations, giving Davilo an opportunity to identify himself with the Pirate Party in the race. To qualify as such, he would need to file a petition with signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the number of Midlothian voters who participated in the village’s most recent preceding regular local election.
Writing in the update, Davilo also said the Midlothian Pirate Party would be recognized by both the Illinois Pirate Party and Chicagoland Pirate Party as a new affiliate organization within their ranks once organized.
Midlothian’s Board of Trustees consists of six members elected during odd-year cycles, with three seats elected at a time and terms lasting four years. During the 2025 election cycle, candidates running under the local Midlothian On The Move Party label won all three trustee seats up for election, while a lone independent candidate finished fourth.
Davilo, a member of the Illinois Pirate Party, was reelected to a second term as chair—also called captain—of the Pirate National Committee earlier this year. He first announced during the committee’s July 5 meeting that he would seek a trustee seat in the 2027 election cycle.
If he follows through, Davilo would be the Illinois Pirate Party’s first candidate for office in several years. The party’s last known candidate effort came during the 2022 cycle, when Davilo explored a bid for Illinois’ 1st Congressional District before suspending the campaign without qualifying for the ballot.
Unless it is explicitly a part of their charter when they first become a home-rule municipality, then it is illegal. Therefore Midlothian is in violation of state election laws regarding local elections.
Is that so? I feel like I’ve been getting conflicting information while trying to research this particular community.
I reached out to the Midlothian village clerk regarding the use of political designations in local races and was directed to the election returns maintained by the Cook County Clerk. Those returns do associate trustee candidates in Midlothian with specific labels or otherwise identify them as independents, whereas candidates in some other communities are listed as nonpartisan, as you said. I also spoke more with Davilo, who said he is required to collect signatures equal to at least 5 percent to appear on the ballot next year. Could this difference have something to do with Midlothian’s status as a home rule community?
It should be clarified that Midlothian On The Move Party is not a real political party. Local elections are nonpartisan in general, and none of them carry any ballot access. They are subject to the same 0.5% threshold, not 5% threshold to get on the ballot, because, again, it is a nonpartisan election.
And considering that in Midlothian’s charter, there is no mention of partisan races, there cannot be any partisan races for city council.