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Wednesday, November 14, 2007 12:00 AM CST

Challenge to Change Decatur ballot initiative renewed

DECATUR - Decatur Realtor Carla Brinkoetter has renewed her challenge to an effort to have Decatur residents vote early next year on changing the form of city government.

Her attorney, Scott Rueter, filed a motion Tuesday in Macon County Circuit Court to have Circuit Judge A.G. Webber IV reconsider his Oct. 26 ruling that two questions dealing with the proposed change should appear on the Feb. 5 primary election ballot.

A hearing on the motion was set for Nov. 29.

Webber ruled last week that these questions should be on the 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?

Voters would have to answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second question to achieve the goal set by Change Decatur, a group pushing the propositions.

"We're confident of our legal position," Steve Daniels, a Change Decatur organizer, said Tuesday. "We've been inspired by all the citizens that have reached out to support us. We're confident they will be able to vote on these propositions on Feb. 5."

The Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce announced following Webber's ruling that it would seek to appeal his decision. Chamber President Randy Prince said Tuesday that the chamber's attorney assisted Rueter in preparing and filing the motion to reconsider.

If that motion fails, the next legal step would be to file with the 4th District Illinois Appellate Court, Prince said.

A motion also was filed Tuesday for Herman G. Bodewes of Springfield to appear as co-counsel for Brinkoetter.

In his motion to reconsider the Oct. 26 ruling, Rueter said the petition to adopt the strong mayor form of government failed to comply with mandatory requirements of the Illinois Election Code, thus making it fatally defective.

The election code provides petitions "must so specify if the statute authorizing the public question requires submission at a particular election," the motion stated. "However, no petition ¦ initiating the submission of a public question ¦ may specify such submission at an election more than one year ¦ after the date on which it is filed."

The Change Decatur petition failed to specify the election at which the proposition was required to be submitted, Rueter said. The Illinois Municipal Code requires that a proposition to adopt the strong mayor form of government be submitted "at the next general municipal election," he said.

In this case, the petition did not specify the proposition be submitted at the next general municipal election or at any particular election, Rueter said.

Because the proposition may not be placed on the ballot until April 2009, which is the next general municipal election, it was filed more than one year before that election and, therefore, must be dismissed, Rueter said.

Also, the dual referendum propositions are unnecessary and together create a vague and ambiguous question, Rueter said. The Illinois Municipal Code provides if a municipality adopts a different form of government, then its current form is automatically abandoned when the new form takes effect, he said.

Ron Ingram can be reached at ringram@herald-review.com or 421-7973.

 

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