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The Herald & Review Archives
Herald & Review (Decatur, IL)
February 10, 2007
Section: News
Page: A3
Group already withdrew signatures
MIKE FRAZIER H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR - Voters will not decide in April whether to change the form of Decatur city government. The city’s electoral board on Friday sustained an objection to a petition that would have allowed voters to decide April 17 whether the city should be represented by an aldermanic form of government. The decision largely was procedural because Change Decatur, the group spearheading the petition drive, already withdrew the petitions. Attorney Scott Rueter filed an objection to the petitions Monday on behalf of former Decatur City Councilwoman Carla Brinkoetter. The objection cited more than 500 invalid signatures found by the county clerk’s office. The three-member electoral board - Mayor Paul Osborne, City Clerk Celeste Harris and Councilman Michael Carrigan - agreed to sustain the objection at a hearing Friday afternoon at the Macon County Courts Facility. "People need to realize this was not on the merit of the question that was going to be put on the ballot, or if it should be put on or not," Osborne said. "It was about the required number of signatures. "We ruled on did they have the required number of signatures to be placed on the ballot, and the evidence presented showed that they did not. That was the reason for the ruling." Change Decatur needed to collect at least 1,553 signatures for voters to decide whether to carve the community into wards represented by aldermen. Councilmen currently are elected at large to represent the entire community. Change Decatur collected about 1,800 signatures in a little more than a week, said organizer Brian Burcham. But 522 of the signatures are not valid, according to a review by the office of Macon County Clerk Steve Bean. Of the invalid signatures, 67 were from people who don’t live in city limits, Bean said. Another 272 signers were not registered to vote, and 154 were registered at an address other than where they lived. Bean said his office also ruled invalid several repeat signatures and 17 signatures that appeared to be signed by the same person. The signatures were submitted by Brian Burcham, Steve Daniels and Keith Anderson. Change Decatur asked unsuccessfully last week that the city council adopt an ordinance that would allow voters to decide in April whether to abandon the current council-manager form of government and the previous commissioner form. "The petition, to me, is the sound way to go," Osborne said. "You bypass the council, you bypass everyone and just take it straight to the people." Mike Frazier can be reached at mfrazier@herald-review.com or 421-7985.
Copyright, 2007, Herald & Review, Decatur, IL
