Skokie Electoral Reform Group Files Petitions For November Referendums

SKOKIE, IL — The group that launched a campaign to change the way the village conducts elections submitted paperwork on Monday to place a trio of binding referendum questions on the November ballot.

The Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform has proposed three changes to the village's political system, which has been dominated for more than a half-century by the Skokie Caucus Party.

One of the three referendums would shift from partisan to nonpartisan elections, another would stagger terms so the entire village board is no longer elected at the same time and the third would establish a hybrid of district-level and at-large trustees.

Referendum backers say the changes will increase the number of residents who participate in local elections, offer voters more choices of candidates and make sure all parts of the village are represented.

The submission of more than 4,000 signatures in support of each of the three measures makes the campaign Skokie's largest signature collection since its incorporation in 1888, according to organizers from the Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform.

"While filing the petitions this morning was a historic milestone for our campaign, our work is far from over," group representatives said in a statement. "Every single signature represents a conversation and we will continue having those conversations through Election Day, aiming to reach every eligible voter in Skokie.

"With candid and genuine discussion about how these three referendums will together result in choice on the ballot, better representation and more voter engagement, we will make every vote matter in Skokie," it said.

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Volunteers from the group began collecting signatures in April, a year after voters elected the village's first independent trustee. Trustee James Johnson, one of the founding members of the pro-referendum group, was elected in village's 2021 municipal elections after the Caucus Party withdrew its support from one of its six slated candidates three weeks before the election.

The referendum campaign has been endorsed by the local chapters of the League of Women Voters, NAACP, National Organization for Women, among other activist groups. Former Gov. Pat Quinn, 16th District State Rep. Denyse Stoneback, members of three local school boards and leaders of several local religious congregations have also backed the effort.

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Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen has opposed the referendum, which he said would change "a system of government that works by all Skokians" to something "needlessly confusing and counterproductive."

In June, Van Dusen sought to place three non-binding referendums on the November ballot, which would have blocked voters from considering the binding electoral reforms. After more than a hundred demonstrators backing the electoral reform group showed up at Village Hall to protest the mayor's move, Van Dusen withdrew the proposal after saying he had been "misrepresented and misunderstood."

At the time, Van Dusen said it was the first time in his 23 years as mayor that he had considered seeking public opinion via nonbinding referendums. He told Patch he was aware his trio of proposed advisory questions would have kept the other referendums off the ballot, but that was not his reason for putting them on the agenda.

At least 1,800 valid signatures are required to appear on the ballot in Skokie, according to organizers, who say they submitted more than twice that many in support of each of the referendums.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, objections to the petitions must be filed within the next week to trigger a hearing of a three-member election board.

Any of the referendums approved by voters will take effect at the next local elections in 2025.

Earlier:

• Electoral Referendums Take Aim At Skokie Caucus Party's One-Party Rule
• Mayor Moves To Block Voter-Initiated Referendums From Ballot
• Skokie Mayor Withdraws Referendum Proposal After Protest