The Jan. 9 meeting of the City’s Electoral Board was continued to 6 p.m. on Jan. 15. The Board, composed of City Clerk Devon Reid, Mayor Stephen Hagerty, serving as chair, and Eighth Ward Alderman Ann Rainey, met to hear and rule on objections to a referendum question for the March 17 primary election ballot.
On Dec. 16 of last year, members of the Evanston Voter Initiative filed a petitions with 3,871 signatures asking voters to approve a resident-led process for “consideration and passage of City ordinances.”
On Dec. 23, three Evanston residents – former Seventh Ward Alderperson Jane Grover, Kent Swanson and Elizabeth Hayford – filed two objections Evanston Voter Initiative’s referendum question. Their objections stated that the referendum question “presents a binding referendum question in violation of state law” and “the question presented in the Petition will confuse voters.”
At the Jan. 9 meeting, former Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn presented a motion to dismiss the objections for lack of sufficiency.
To give the objectors time to respond – and the petitioners time as well, should they wish to reply to the response – Chairman Hagerty continued the meeting to the Jan. 15 date.