By Neil Doyle and Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington voters will have a decision to make this November about the future of the city’s election commission.
McLean County Judge Paul Lawrence issued a ruling Thursday leaving it up to city voters to do away with the commission, and have the elected county clerk manage elections in Bloomington and the rest of the county. The referendum will be on the November 6 ballot.
A court hearing held earlier this week saw petitioners Connie Beard, the chairwoman of the McLean County Republican Party, and Norma Brown present 1,345 petition signatures in favor of the referendum. Opponent Denise Williams said more than 500 of the signatures should not have been included in the petition. Judge Lawrence found 158 invalid signatures, still leaving more than the required 1,000 valid signatures to put the issue before the voters.
Williams represented McLean County Democrats who want an independent panel, like the city’s election commission, to run all county elections.
In a statement, McLean County Democratic Party Chairman Erik Rankin said the party honors the judge’s decision, but disagrees with the ruling. Rankin said it was the duty of local Democrats to make sure correct procedures were followed and that signatures were gathered in a proper and legal manner.
McLean County Republicans on their Facebook page said the hard work of their volunteers paid off, and the next few weeks the GOP will educate voters about the advantage of having in place a single electoral system. Republicans noted that 95 of Illinois’ 102 counties have one election system.
McLean County Libertarians joined the local GOP in gathering signatures for the referendum. They issued a statement saying the judge’s decision was a “victory for democracy.”
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
