Advisory Referenda on Township Annual Meeting Agenda

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:
January 23, 2020

           Advisory Referenda 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. This year’s meeting is April 14, 2020. 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 was recently 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 recently imposed by the legislature is to limit the referendums to no more than three on the township Annual Meeting agenda.