If you want a close-to-home example of political power, come to a River Forest Village Board meeting and watch our village president in action.
At the Oct. 13 board meeting, our village attorney explained the hypothetical issues that could come up in the future because the referendum on term limits included the words “binding” and “advisory.” He acknowledged that, with the election result in favor of term limits, term limits were actually in force. The board could adopt/codify the vote, but someone could challenge it at some point because of these two words.
The board then voted against codifying the referendum, with President Adduci breaking the tie. The next step was putting the referendum on the ballot again, this time with clear “binding” language. But when? At our next election, the March primary? Or at the Nov. 2026 midterm election?
A lengthy discussion ensued. President Adduci very clearly didn’t want it on the ballot in March. Her reason? Fewer voters vote in primaries. Trustee O’Connell conveniently had data that more voters vote in general elections. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until November?
Some trustees argued that this would not be responsive to River Forest residents who have kept this issue in front of the board since April (three seasons ago). Aducci repeatedly argued that the vote should wait until November to get more voters (19 months from the deciding April 2025 vote).
This has come up at board meetings since April 2025, offering multiple opportunities to be more responsive to voters. Waiting, of course, means that voters forget about the issue, and it certainly means kicking the can down the road.
It is absolutely dismissive of the will of the voters, cloaked in “we want to get this right.” Getting it right could happen in March or November. Because Aducci did not want the vote this March, she had to break the tie on that vote.
November 2026 was now the only choice. She was delighted that “a consensus was achieved,” but it was, instead, a demonstration of power, and an elected official with no compunction about exercising hers.
Phyllis Rubin
River Forest