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RSSAppellate court schedules Dec. 12 oral arguments on city government ballot questions
Search By Issue DECATUR - Decatur Realtor Carla Brinkoetter has filed an appeal to a recent court decision that allows voters to decide in February whether to change the form of Decatur city government.
The objection, which was filed with the Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court in Springfield, is supported by the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Judge A.G. Webber IV ruled last month that two questions will be placed on the Feb. 5 primary ballot:
n Shall the city of Decatur retain the manager form of municipal government?
n Shall the city of Decatur adopt the strong mayor form of municipal government?
The court appeal, filed by Brinkoetter, says the questions are "improper for a variety of reasons."
Advocates of changing the form of city government are confident they are on solid legal ground.
"This is simply an attempt to confuse the issues, and it's not going to work," said Steve Daniels, a ChangeDecatur organizer.
Brinkoetter's attorneys argue that petitioners for a change in city government failed to properly state the questions and failed to include on the petitions all information required by the state election code and the municipal code.
Submitting the questions together will lead to "vague and ambiguous propositions," and the Feb. 5 primary election is not the proper election for the questions, the objection states.
Daniels said there is "nothing new" in the appeal that hasn't previously been reviewed and decided.
The Chamber board voted recently to hire an attorney to appeal Webber's decision, but the Chamber has taken no position on changing the form of municipal government, said Jeff Hendricks, board chairman.
If the issue is brought to a vote, it's important that it "not be confusing and be done properly," Hendricks said.
Macon County Clerk Steve Bean hopes the issue is resolved by Dec. 20, allowing enough time to mail absentee ballots to military personnel.
Oral arguments on the appeal are scheduled for Dec. 12, said Brian Burcham, a ChangeDecatur organizer.
Mike Frazier can be reached at mfrazier @herald-review.com or 421-7985.
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