Skokie: On the Cusp of Democracy

From the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform:

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people,” declared President Lincoln at Gettysburg, summing up the creed of this nation. But the Constitution’s definition of “the people” originally excluded many, including people who did not own land, Black Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and women. The inclusion of these groups and others as part of “the people” would not have been won without the tireless efforts of numerous grassroots movements over the course of our country’s history. Realizing democracy in America has always been a steady climb toward greater inclusion, and that process continues today, throughout our country and right here in our own village.

Inclusion is vital to governance in our democracy, which recognizes that the common good is best defined and obtained by a government structure that accommodates a blend of different populations and viewpoints: e pluribus unum, out of many, one. People with a multiplicity of views can serve on the same body and govern together in the name of the health, safety, and welfare of the community and its people.

Democracy, however, has to be continually upheld in the face of attempts to whittle it away into a government “of the handful, for the handful, by the handful,” as civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer warned. The success of our democracy is measured by the level and breadth of engagement by the people, a hard-won social compact to which we must continue to assure broad and fair access, just like those who came before us.

In the Village of Skokie, a restrictive electoral system has enabled one local political party to control the ballot and the government for over fifty-six years. Fully 91 percent of the candidates in the past five Village elections have come from the incumbent party, usually running in uncontested races, with an average of just 1.1 candidates per seat. As a result, only 9 percent of registered voters have participated on average. Why vote when there’s no choice and your representatives are de facto chosen for you?

Unlike Skokie’s other boards (park district, library, and school boards, which stagger their elections) the entire Village Board – Mayor, Clerk, and six Trustees – is up for election every four years. That’s a long time without an opportunity for rotation.

Skokie’s ballot also privileges candidates slated by the political party in power, as the established party has an earlier filing deadline to get on the ballot, ensuring top billing. In Skokie, the only established party is the Skokie Caucus Party, a name that tells us little about the individual candidates it slates. Under the current system of partisan elections, the only other label we see, relegated to the bottom of the ballot, is the equally uninformative “Independent.”

It’s these two parameters working together – non-staggered terms and partisan balloting – that hinder competition and pave the way for single-party rule.

This inequitable electoral system has stifled Skokie’s democracy for decades. The issue is not whether any specific political party has merit, but rather a process question: whether any one party should be abetted by an electoral system to hold unilateral power indefinitely.

Moreover, with all representatives currently elected at-large, there is no guarantee that all parts of Skokie will have representation. Indeed, the vast majority of the Village’s elected officials have lived in one quadrant: the more affluent northeast side, the only part of Skokie in which white residents constitute a majority.

Today, Skokie is run more like a nuclear family than like the 18th largest municipality in Illinois, home to 68,000 people. Skokie needs districts and real debate as appropriate to a diverse and complex municipality.

Skokie is the only municipality in Cook County with such an inequitable electoral system that combines partisan, non-staggered, and at-large elections. On the November 8th ballot, Skokie voters have a historic opportunity to broaden and level the playing field for individuals seeking to run for Village Board. We have a chance in Skokie to realize a fully representative democracy through an electoral system that allows for more points of entry, improved geographic representation, and accountability to voters.

Two dozen residents founded the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform late last year as a nonpartisan, grassroots campaign solely focused on expanding our democracy so that every vote matters. We have grown into a movement of thousands, coming from every walk of life and every neighborhood of Skokie. Our volunteers, endorsers, and petition signers include Skokians across the political spectrum, including from the party currently in power.

Thanks to the more than 4,000 registered voters who signed the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform’s petitions this summer, voters will have before them three binding referendum questions calling for: (1) nonpartisan elections, (2) staggered terms, and (3) hybrid representation, in which two trustees (instead of all six) will be elected at-large, and the other four will come from geographic districts, each district larger than 88% of municipalities in Illinois. The mayor and clerk will continue to be elected at-large, so half of the board will be at-large, and half will be elected by districts.

A “yes” vote for any one of these referendum questions will allow more candidates to run for office. A “yes” vote for all three will ensure that Skokie will have a fair and accessible system befitting its celebrated diversity.

The Alliance’s three commonsense reforms have been endorsed by the local chapters of the League of Women Voters, NAACP, National Organization for Women, Green Party, 350 Chicago, and over ten other local groups, as well as the statewide Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization. The referendums have also been endorsed by a growing list of individuals, including elected officials like former Governor Pat Quinn and State Representative Denyse Wang Stoneback, and faith and community leaders.

These reforms will continue to give incumbent political parties the freedom to run candidates they select. The difference is that, under the new system, candidates will run on a level playing field and with healthy competition, encouraging candidates to engage with voters and campaign on their own positions and merits.

You can support both the only established party – the Skokie Caucus Party – and these referendum questions. The Alliance's volunteers, endorsers, and petition signers include those who do.

The reforms will also not alter Skokie’s Village Manager system, nor will they interfere with Skokie’s municipal services. These nonpartisan reforms are simply about inclusion and the basic tenets of democracy.

In our nation today, voting rights are under attack by short-sighted partisan interests that seek unchallenged power rather than accountability to the people. Autocracy threatens, but in its way stands a brave and simple principle. That everyone has a voice. That every voice deserves a vote. That every vote matters. Democracy is a principle based on equality and fairness.

Our grassroots Skokie movement for electoral reform is holding ground for democracy at the local level where, in fact, our votes should matter most. We are nonpartisan because democracy is fundamentally nonpartisan. We recognize that everyone benefits under an electoral system that centers inclusion and openness and invites us to hold one another accountable for a shared commitment to our mutual good.

The beauty of these reforms is that they are rooted in genuine trust in the ability of residents to come together to govern. The majority of people will no longer feel excluded from the political life of their own community. They will feel inspired to vote. Because Skokie’s electoral system will truly welcome everyone.

To learn more about these referendums, ask questions, and volunteer for the next phase of this campaign, please come to the Skokie Alliance Community Meeting at the Skokie Public Library this Sunday, September 11, 3:00-5:00 pm, in the Business Center.

For more information on the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform, visit SkokieElectoralReform.org or www.facebook.com/SkokieElectoralReform, or write to SkokieElectoralReform@gmail.com.

This release was produced by the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform. The views expressed here are the author’s own.