Request of 1,018 Voters Heads To Trial

After 1,018 Niles voters signed a petition requesting the chance to vote on term limits for Niles elected officials, and the village turned them down, the matter wound up in court Tuesday.

A Cook County judge set a trial date for Thursday, Sept. 13, in the courtroom of Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon. 

Earlier:

Earlier:  

"They changed the judge to a judge that entirely does election law, so he's quite familiar with it," said Joe Makula, who led a small group of Niles citizens who collected signatures on the petition.

Judge Ponce de Leon will hold a bench trial at 11 a.m. on that date in Room 1703 at the Daley Center in Chicago.

One Niles citizen, Rob Kurfirst, wrote a noting that Niles' former Mayor Nick Blase, , served for 47 years, and a linked length of service with the tendency toward corruption. 

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While Niles residents will be watching the outcome of the trial, so will the office of Cook County Clerk David Orr--for logistical reasons. 

Courtney Greve, a spokeswoman for the clerk's office, earlier said the office could , though it faces a Sept. 19 deadline to have military ballots ready, and it needs time before that to prepare them.

Makula noted the issue of term limits is moving forward.

"Whatever occurs with this in court, it's upfront in the minds of Niles voters who will come to the polls in April (when municipal elections take place)," said Makula. 

"When I circulated this petition, I didn't realize how many people are interested in term limits. So even if term limits are not enforced on the ballot, they will be by voters, at least to some extent."

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