The Oak Park Township has an advisory referendum question on the ballot for local voters: “Shall the people of Oak Park have the initiative right to amend and propose ordinances by voter petition and enact those ordinances by voter referendum?”
This question asks voters if they would like to make changes in the village more directly. The idea is that if there’s an issue residents feel strongly about, they could organize a petition with a certain number of signatures to bring an ordinance before the village board.
The board would then, in theory, have the opportunity to vote on the ordinance. If passed, it would be enacted. If not, the ordinance would be placed on the next ballot for voters to decide through a referendum, under majority rules.
This November, the referendum is an advisory question. That means the village will just get an idea of how Oak Parkers feel about this possibility. To be enacted, the village board would have to put the question on a future ballot as a binding referendum. Or another taxing body could implement it through a referendum, too. Then voters would officially decide. There’s no guarantee that will happen.
Jacob Drews, an Oak Park native and sophomore at Columbia University, is behind this effort. He and Pat Quinn, the 41st governor of Illinois from 2009 to 2015, worked to get the advisory question on the ballot through the Oak Park Township.
Any citizen who gets at least 15 signatures from registered voters on a petition can go through a process to get an advisory referendum question placed on a ballot through the Oak Park Township.
“People should also be able to vote on issues, not just on candidates,” Drews said. “Oak Park has long been a progressive leader. We’ve long been pushing the envelope … I think we should do the same with this.”
What are the benefits to passing the referendum?
The main benefit, Drews said, is the empowerment of voters. If elected officials are not listening to the people of Oak Park, or not acting on a critical issue, voters would have options. Right now, they’d have to wait to vote trustees out to see change.
The current village board has been receptive to issues, Drews said, but in the future, that might not be the case.
“[This change] will be another tool that the people of Oak Park can use to get the change that the community desires,” he said.
Voters can also use this method to tell the candidates how they feel about an issue, Quinn pointed out. While the referendum on the ballot this November is not binding, it’s a good way to test the views of Oak Parkers, he said.
“The best way to get the village board moving on this subject of the voter initiative power is to at least give the voters at large a chance to advise the village board that this is the best way to go,” Quinn said.
Oak Park Township Manager Evan Michel said the township has no official say on the benefits of the referendum.
It’s up to voters to decide.
What issues could residents bring forward?
The issues brought forward through this method are generally local ones, Quinn said. It could be related to the environment, affordable housing, economic growth, ethics or whatever else voters feel strongly about.
The village board decides most issues, Quinn pointed out. But there are issues that come up that people might want to decide for themselves. The voter initiative can give everyday people a bigger voice in government, he said.
“I believe in direct democracy, and I think most voters feel same way,” he said. “From time to time there may be an issue that the village board can’t agree on or doesn’t pay enough attention to. And then the voters have a … way to put something on the ballot.”
How did the question get on the ballot?
After gathering at least 15 signatures from registered voters, the citizen interested in getting a referendum on a ballot submits the petition to the township clerk. The referendum is placed on the agenda for the township’s annual meeting, typically held the first Tuesday in April.
Registered voters in attendance at the meeting vote on if the referendum should be placed on the ballot. If passed, the township clerk submits it to the county clerk to be placed on the ballot. The township board and officials do not vote, only ensure the process follows state statutes, Michel said.
Drews accomplished these steps in April 2023.
“[Drews] believes in this ability of people to discern issues and most importantly to vote on issues,” Quinn said. “[This can] also inspire other communities in the western suburbs or any other place in Illinois that this can be done. And it can be done by young people.”
How soon the voter initiative could be implemented depends on if another taxing body, like the village board, chooses to put it on the ballot in a future election, Michel pointed out. Any “regular” election, including primary, general or municipal elections, could have a voter initiative ordinance on the ballot.
“I hope that when Oak Parkers turn out to vote, and hopefully approve this overwhelmingly, that the village board of Oak Park will look at it and say, ‘You know what, Oak Parkers want this,’ and maybe they’ll pass it,” Drews said.
The weekend before Election Day, Drews said he plans to come back to Oak Park to encourage early voters to vote “Yes” on the advisory referendum.
Do other places give voters the power to pass ordinances?
In Arlington Heights, voters do have this ability and are currently the only municipality in Illinois to have implemented it. Other states have this provision, too.
“Oak Park can really be a trailblazer here in getting this done for the people of Oak Park but also showing an example to other voters in other municipalities that this is possible,” Quinn said.
Drews said he hopes this can turn the tide in Illinois and gather momentum for the voter initiative to be passed elsewhere. It’s just another check and balance, he said, and empowering people is healthy for democracy.
Election Day is Nov. 5 and early voting opens Oct. 21.
