Op-Ed: Who’s Afraid of Electoral Reform?

By Louis Mercer

In addition to all the spooky, festive Halloween decorations going up around Skokie, the voters of the village may have noticed some flyers recently intending to give them a fright. These flyers suggest that a current referendum campaign to revitalize Skokie’s democracy could lead to corruption and extremism. Unfortunately, the reality is that Skokie’s current system already allows for these frightening, undemocratic possibilities. But thankfully, over 4000 Skokie residents supported a solution this spring and summer by signing petitions to give residents a chance to vote on November 8th on hybrid representation and nonpartisan, staggered elections for our village.

While a yes vote on the three referendums would create a more democratic Skokie, the opponents of the reforms would have voters believe that a hybrid system would create wards akin to Chicago’s historically corrupt system. As a student of Chicago history, I am here to assure you that Ed Burke and the Daley family must feel great envy when looking at Skokie’s current system of unstaggered, partisan, at-large seats. After all, how better to consolidate power in one political party and remain unresponsive to the voters than to discourage independent, diverse voices from the political process through partisan elections that favor established parties? How better to ignore your voters by holding elections villagewide only once every four years and not having representatives from all parts of the village? After all, even Chicago politicians must face the voters in their own neighborhoods. If Chicago-style politics lead to corrupt development projects, how should Skokie voters understand the recent decision to create a deeply unpopular and environmentally reckless Carvana development that literally hundreds of Skokie residents opposed, but still was rubber stamped by the members of a political party that has held power for decades in the village? Eat your heart out, Daleys.

While the misinformation campaign funded by the ruling party might have more money than the grassroots campaign to create electoral reform, here is the reality they will not tell you in their mailers: a hybrid system would still retain a united Skokie with two at-large seats held by representatives that must keep in mind the needs of the whole village. The four districts would create more opportunities for residents to run for office who might not have the same resources to run a villagewide campaign. These local representatives must understand our needs at the neighborhood level. As a School Board member in District 73.5, I drive my kids to school every day and see so many empty storefronts along Main Street. While the ruling party continues to approve high rise luxury apartments in well developed areas, sometimes built by wealthy Trump appointees, my district struggles to keep the taxes of our residents down due to a lack of business development that could bring in much needed tax dollars for our schools. If I had the voice of a Village Board member representing my district, and perhaps if you had one in yours, we could see a more responsive board that understands the needs of our neighborhoods, while at the same time seeing and meeting the needs of the whole village. If that does not sound very corrupt, that is because it is not - it is democratic.

Perhaps the scariest suggestion made by opponents of the referendums that would create a more democratic Skokie is that extremists could use the new system to come to power. Yet, in the last election, Skokie voters rejected misogynistic viewpoints from a candidate hand selected and unvetted by the ruling political party in Skokie. While this candidate lost the endorsement of his party, his name still appeared alongside his party label because it was too late for them to erase him from the ballot. He only lost when the voters of Skokie rejected these offensive viewpoints and thankfully had a chance to vote for the first independent candidate in Skokie in half a century with progressive values running against the ruling party. The voters of Skokie know and reject offensive viewpoints when they see them. Rejecting extremism is our historical legacy. When those holding power suggest Skokians cannot be trusted to vote every two years in staggered elections because they might suffer “voter fatigue,” or that voters cannot be trusted to reject extremism at the ballot box, what they are saying is that they are scared of facing the voters in a more fair system.

But this Halloween season, Skokie voters need not be afraid - they have the power to revitalize democracy and promote inclusive civic engagement. Vote yes on all three referendums November 8th to make every vote in Skokie matter.

Louis Mercer
School District 73.5 Board Member
PhD Candidate in History at UIC
Teacher at North Shore Country Day

This letter was produced by Louis Mercer. The views expressed here are the author’s own.