Advisory Referendum for 2018 Township Annual Meeting

CONTACT:  Greg White, Township Clerk,

Oak Park Township

708-383-8005, gwhite@oakparktownship.org

Gavin Morgan, Township Manager,

Oak Park Township

708-383-8005, gmorgan@oakparktownship.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

March 16, 2018

Advisory Referendum on Township Annual Meeting Agenda

State of Illinois statute (60 ILCS 1/30-205) allows citizens to place an advisory referendum on election ballots. The process: A citizen creates a petition supporting an advisory referendum question to be placed on the Annual Meeting agenda of the local township. The citizen gathers 15 signatures of registered voters within the township and submits it to the township clerk by March 1. The clerk must place the referendum on the agenda for the Annual Meeting, which is held each year on the second Tuesday of April. The registered voters of the township who are in attendance at the Annual Meeting vote on whether the referendum should be placed on the ballot of the next election. If it passes, the clerk must submit it to the county clerk for placement on the ballot. The local township board has no role in the process.

The above process is periodically reviewed by the state legislature. The majority opinion has been to keep the process basically as is in order to give citizens easy access to the ballot for advisory purposes. Passing the referendum on the election ballot does not obligate any governing body to act. One limit  imposed by the legislature is to limit the referendums to no more than three on the township Annual Meeting agenda.

The Oak Park Township Annual Meeting – an open, public meeting – is on Tuesday, April 10^th, 6:30pm at the Senior Service meeting room, 130 S. Oak Park Avenue. There will be one referendum up for a vote to decide if it should be placed on the November  6^th, 2018, election ballot. Oak Park registered voters present will cast their public, voice vote for or against each agenda item – there are other items in addition to the referendum – up for a vote. The referendum item is:  

 “Shall all firearms be required by law to be stored in a safe and secure manner that prevents access by unauthorized persons, when such firearms are not under the direct personal control of the owner?”

Prior to the public votes, Oak Park Township staff will give brief reports on the past fiscal year’s (April 1 2017 – March 31, 2018) activities of Senior Services, Youth Services, General Assistance, Assessor’s Office, and the Community Mental Health Board. A full agenda for the Annual Meeting and the following regular township board meeting will be posted by March 20, 2018.

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