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player ready...When Election Day hits Nov. 3, Oak Park voters will have an opportunity to chime in on an advisory referendum that has generated considerable debate: “Should the State of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott the State of Israel?”
The question relates to a state law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2015 that prohibits pension funds from investing in companies that meet a number of criteria, one of which is that they cannot invest in other companies that are in a boycott of Israel. As an advisory referendum, it is a way to gauge public opinion but will not necessarily result in action by the village.
In April, hundreds of voters opposed putting the question on the ballot at a passionate and heavily attended Oak Park Township Annual Town Meeting where over 350 people opposed placing the question on the ballot by the township. But an organization called Oak Parkers for Free Speech gathered over 3,500 signatures in an effort to have the question placed on the ballots in November by the village of Oak Park, which has caused a rift in the community. Organizations have weighed in on both sides of the issue and are advocating for community members to do the same.
Two people filed an objection with the Oak Park’s Electoral Board in an effort to remove the question from the ballot, claiming that the Oak Parkers for Free Speech petition’s signatures were questionable and weren’t verified as registered village voters.
The board, consisting of Oak Park Trustees James Taglia, Chibuike Enyia and village President Vicki Scaman, voted 2-1 to keep the question on the ballot in August, with Taglia being the dissenting vote. Village Clerk Christina Waters was on the Electoral Board, but did not vote on the measure after signing the petition by Oak Parkers for Free Speech.
The objectors appealed to the Cook County Circuit Court, which ruled in favor of adding the question. It was then appealed again at the Illinois Appellate Court, which affirmed the 2-1 decision earlier this month.
Two groups have been at the forefront in advocating yes or no votes on the referendum. Oak Parkers for Free Speech is advocating for residents to vote “yes” while Oak Park Neighbors United is pushing for people to vote “no.”
Oak Park Neighbors United formed in September after the decision by the Cook County Circuit Court and before it was headed to the appeals court. The organization opposes the question, claiming that it is discriminatory, divisive and a distraction.
Mark Segal, a spokesperson for the organization, said the village should focus on matters that directly affect their community such as a zoning ordinance that has raised concerns in the community and future plans for West Suburban Medical Center.
“We find it a distraction from where we should really be focusing,” Segal said, saying the advisory referendum will “basically make many in the Jewish community here, honestly, feel not welcomed within Oak Park.”
Members of the organization have been advocating for residents to vote ‘no’ on November ballots around Oak Park at farmers markets and going door-to-door and will be providing material during early voting at Oak Park Village Hall and outside polling places on Election Day urging “no” votes, Segal said.
Jesse Bauer and other members of Oak Parkers for Free Speech are advocating for community members to vote ‘”yes” on the referendum.
The results of the Oak Park Township vote in April did not reflect the full scope of Oak Parkers’ opinions, Bauer said, which caused him to work and get the question on the ballot.
“This is a citizen-led advisory referendum brought through that process to the ballot,” he said.
According to the organization’s website, the Rauner-era Illinois law violates the fiduciary responsibility of Illinois to its pension holders, and that the ban on boycotts is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
The Oak Parkers for Free Speech group also said there are no fiduciary guardrails within the law, and it could be used to order public university staff and state workers, teachers in Oak Park’s school districts, and taxpayers to sell or avoid investments for political reasons. Other states are working to repeal their own-boycott laws along with Illinois.
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