The chance to change their form of government gives Lake and Will County voters an opportunity to make Illinois history next week. But less than a week before each county votes on whether it should be run by an elected executive, supporters and opponents say they have no idea which way the referendums will go.
”Right now I would say the vote is going to be very close,” said Fred Foreman, a Republican who is state`s attorney of Lake County and a backer of the referendum. Republican Party Chairman Robert P. Neal started the petition drive that put the issue on the ballot.
In Will County, former State Sen. George Sangmeister, a Democrat who instigated the petition drive for the referendum, gives it just a ”50-50”
chance of passage. He said a mailing, sent Wednesday to 25,000 residents who are expected to vote, is intended to clear up any confusion.
”People tend to vote `no` on something they don`t understand,” said Sangmeister, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary for Congress from the 4th District. ”We are trying to educate them with the mailer.”
An elected county executive would have broader powers than those held by a county board chairman. The executive could hire and fire workers, veto legislation and vote to break ties in board meetings, essentially the same authority as that given to the governor, Sangmeister said.
In either county, candidates for the new office would appear on the November ballot if the proposal is approved. But the idea has drawn a lot of opposition, and the proposals` success is far from assured.
Lake County Clerk Linda Ianuzi Hess, a Democrat who opposes the referendum proposal, said the issue apparently is spurring voter interest.
”Anytime there is a controversial issue on the ballot it brings a lot of voters out,” Hess said. ”There are a lot of folks with a great deal of interest in this referendum on both sides of the issue. I think it (the outcome) is too close to call.”
Currently, both counties have ”council-administrator” forms of government, with elected county boards and a chairman elected by its members. That chairman-Jim Fields in Lake County and John Annerino in Will County-is the unofficial leader of county government, but with limited authority.
Opponents of the referendums believe the authority that would be given to the elected executive is too broad. The League of Women Voters of Lake County has suggested that the Illinois County Executive Act, which permits referendums like Tuesday`s, be amended to diminish the executive`s authority. In a position paper issued last month, the league said, ”Greater efficiency in county board organization is a laudable goal. But efficiency won at the expense of the traditional democratic safeguards, like appropriate checks and balances, can quickly evolve into overbearing government.”
A task force in Du Page County, where the county board chairman is elected by the voters but lacks the powers of a county executive, also has asked the legislature to amend the County Executive Act to reduce that authority. The task force recommended election of an executive last September, but no vote is scheduled.
Neither major party in Will County has taken a position on the issue. The election is seen by some as a referendum as much on the present county leadership as on installing a new form of government.
”If this passes, people are saying we don`t want Annerino or (County Administrator John) Karubas,” said Teresa Stinnett, chairman of the local committee that is campaigning for passage of the measure.
Though much opposition in Lake County is coming from Democrats, some Republican County Board members say it is an effort at power-grabbing by Neal, who has indicated he would be interested in being elected county executive. Candidates for the office this November would be selected by the parties`
central committees.
One gray area in the balloting is the wording of both proposals, which ask voters if their county should ”adopt the executive form of government and elect not to become a home rule unit.” Neither Lake nor Will is a home-rule county now, meaning it cannot pass legislation or levy new taxes that are not already approved by state law.
The Lake County League of Women Voters says that whether a non-home-rule county may have an executive is unclear under the Illinois Constitution, although the County Executive Act was amended to make it legal. There has been no court test, because the only county to vote on this combination, Winnebago, voted ”no.”
Foreman believes that the position would make county government more accountable to taxpayers. ”As a state`s attorney I am an elected county official myself,” said Foreman, who is seeking re-election. ”People should have a right to elect their county chairman or their county executive.”
