A state appellate court ruled Thursday to uphold an Oak Park electoral board decision regarding an advisory referendum question for the Nov. 3 village ballot.
The objection to the question, “Should the state of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott the state of Israel?” was overruled in August by a local electoral board consisting of Village President Vicki Scaman and Trustees James Taglia and Chibuike Enyia. That decision was upheld last month by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Viviana Martinez.
Thursday’s decision from the First Judicial District of the Appellate Court of Illinois said that the petition for public question substantially complied with the requirements of Section 28-3 of the Illinois Election Code. Two justices supported the decision; another dissented.
A brief released Thursday said:
“On appeal, we must first determine whether the Code requires strict compliance with respect to the certification that signatures ‘are genuine,’ or whether the petitions are reviewed for substantial compliance with the Code. We find that the substantial compliance standard applies. We proceed to determine that the petition sheets, when read as a whole, substantially comply with the requirements of the Code. We therefore uphold the validity of the petition. The decision of the electoral board is affirmed.”
Attorney Michael Kasper of the Chicago government-relations law firm Kasper, Holmes & Dring, representing referendum question objectors Alan H. Peres and Piergiorgio Uslenghi, appealed Martinez’s decision Sept. 25.
With Thursday’s appellate court decision, Kasper said Thursday that a potential next step for his clients would be to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
When asked if he would pursue that, he said, “(I) don’t know yet.”
Jesse Bauer of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, which brought forth the referendum question originally, said, “we were extremely confident in the legal argument we had.
“It’s been a hard road, but you expect that when you’re fighting for human rights and Palestinian issues,” Bauer said. “That’s typical. (But) you’re always a little nervous when it’s out of your control. There’s excitement and momentum and we’re moving into the campaign phase.”
Added Caren Van Slyke of Oak Parkers for Free Speech: “We’re just gratified the voters of Oak Park will be able to vote yes to support free speech, human rights and fiscal responsibility.”
With election day less than a month away, Bauer said work is going into Oak Parkers for Free Speech educational events, including a viewing of the documentary “Boycott” at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Veterans Room of the Main Library along with remarks from speaker Dima Khalidi, founder of Palestine Legal.
Oak Park Neighbors United, a new group that has formed to provide arguments why Oak Park village community members should vote no to the referendum question, provided a statement Thursday through spokesman Mark Segal.
“We have been and remain fully focused every day on defeating this discriminatory and divisive referendum at the ballot box,” he said. “We urge voters who value Oak Park’s decades-long commitment to being a diverse and welcoming village to send a message of inclusion and vote no.”
Oak Parkers for Free Speech recently launched a Facebook page and a video regarding the referendum question and the issues surrounding it. Oak Park Neighbors United launched a website, oakparkneighborsunited.org, that discusses its views on the matter.