Judge Weighs Niles Petition On Term Limits

Cook County Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon heard arguments from attorneys for both a Niles citizens group and the village of Niles Thursday on whether a citizens' petition, requesting a referendum on term limits, is valid.

The judge is expected to rule by Sept. 20 whether the election ballot will contain a question asking citizens whether term limits should be imposed on Niles elected officials. 

The village of Niles filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit a few days ago, and on Thursday the judge denied that motion, said Adam Lasker, an attorney for Joe Makula of the citizens' group.

Earlier:

Both attorneys presented their full cases to the judge.

"The judge wanted time to review the cases and briefs and continued this case for status and a possible ruling on the merits to next Thursday morning at 10:30 am," said Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, an attorney for the village of Niles, in an email.

Lasker said that the citizens' group had a strong case. Whether the signatures on the petition are genuine is not being challenged, he said; instead, the matter concerns whether the language on the petition matches the language in election code. The judge must decide whether to apply a "substantial compliance" standard, as the citizens' group hopes, or a "strict compliance" standard, which Lasker said is what the village used in rejecting the petition.

"When courts make a decision, they're supposed to lean in favor of ballot access," Lasker said. Illinois appellate court and the Illinois Supreme Court have articulated that in many decisions over the years, he noted.

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