George Smith, a member of the Citizens for a Better Bolingbrook addressed the electoral board, responding to an objection to his petition asking voters -
"Shall the Village of Bolingbrook be divided into 6 districts with one trustee elected from each district?"
Smith filed 1,145 signatures with Will County Clerk's office, requesting that this question be added to the ballot as a referendum in the Primary election. This will give Bolingbrook voters a chance to place a vote in support of (or against) the referendum.
At least 8 Bolingbrook residents object the petition on the grounds that it did not meet the statutory requirements. The public hearing held on Monday, November 30, 2009 addressed the objection.
The 8 residents objecting the petition was represented by Richard Kavanaugh, an attorney, and long term resident of Bolingbrook. Kavanaugh states that the petition did not meet the statutory requirements. The question reads -
"Shall the Village of Bolingbrook be divided into 6 districts with one trustee elected from each district?"
Due to the language used in the question - "Shall" instead of "May" makes it a binding referendum instead of an advisory. As a result, the municipal code requirement takes precedent over the election code. This determines the minimum number of signatures required.
According to Kavanaugh, the minimum number of signatures required are 1,914. Smith's 1,145 signatures (manually counted by his team) are way below the minimum requirement. In addition, Kavanaugh points out that not all of Smith's petitions were notarized, and some were not signed by the circulator. There were 178 printed names, not signed. And at least 30 signatures on duplicate pages. Basically, reducing Smith's 1,145 signatures already submitted.
George Smith addressed the electoral board to defend the objection. According to Smith, he turned in 1,378 signatures. And did not agree with the minimum requirement given by Kavanaugh. In addition, Smith requested that the case be moved out of Bolingbrook due to a conflict of interest.
The Electoral Board hearing the case is a 3 member board consisting of Roger Claar (Mayor), Leroy Brown (Village Trustee) and Carol Penning (Village Clerk). All are part of Mayor Claar's political slate, and logically, would never support the referendum in question.
Smith's request to have the hearing moved outside of Bolingbrook was quickly denied by Mayor Claar. Claar went on to pass a motion to uphold the objection. Claar, Brown and Penning all agreed. The formal objection was held Wednesday morning, December 2, 2009.
We found the board's decision to uphold the objection and prevent the question from being placed on the ballot of no surprise. Mayor Claar has tremendous control over our locally elected officials, and those officials will never make a decision counter to what he wants. It's his way, period.
With this fact in mind, why is it George Smith and the Citizens for a Better Bolingbrook fail to adequately prepare? At the very least, they should have consulted an attorney, and had one representing them at the hearing. How can they be sure Kavanaugh and Boan are citing the correct statutes? Is it possible Smith does have enough signatures? Remember, both attorneys are representing Mayor Claar's interest, not the residents of Bolingbrook.
It's important that residents stay connected and involved with what's going on in the community. There's nothing wrong with challenging the system if you believe change is needed. But once you step out there, claiming to represent the people, it's important to be thoroughly prepared.
So in the spirit of democracy, we must declare Team Claar the winner of this battle. Claar's team encouraged more supporters to speak out, had an expert attorney represent their case, and controlled the electoral board.
But the war is not over. We believe Bolingbrook residents should be able to answer the question "Shall the Village be divided into 6 districts with one trustee elected from each district?"
For those who support the referendum, do not give up. This is simply one step in a long process. A minor bump in the road. Learn from it and keep fighting.
Remember, the quality of our government is determined by the level of participation from the residents. Next time, raise your game. Make our political leaders fight hard for the privileges bestowed upon them as elected officials. Bolingbrook deserves better.
Round 2, anyone?