Oak Park voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would’ve posed a question about boycotts to Israel to local voters on this November’s ballot.
Oak Park Township held its annual town meeting at Percy Julian Middle School Tuesday, April 28. The question on this year’s meeting agenda was “do you support the right of individuals and organizations, including state contractors, to boycott, divest and sanction Israel?”
If the vote had passed, the question would’ve gone onto the ballot for Oak Park voters in November’s election.
Nearly 500 Oak Park residents came out to vote at the annual meeting, with 352 voting against the measure and 134 voting in favor of it. The measure was put on the meeting agenda after a local petition received 26 signatures.
The local petition came as the Illinois legislature considers repealing a 2015 law banning state pension funds from being invested in companies that divest from or boycott Israel.
The same question was on the agenda for several other townships around the state. Votes on the matter reportedly passed in the townships of Cunningham, Peoria, Kickapoo, Medina, DuPage and Normal but failed in Capital and Wheatland townships, according to progressive news blog Let’s Address Illinois.