Whether Oak Park voters will see an advisory question about Illinois' anti-boycott-of-Israel investment laws on the Nov. 3 ballot now hinges on a three-member village electoral board that must rule on a formal objection within days.

Attorney Michael Kasper of the Chicago firm Kasper, Holmes & Dring filed the challenge by the Monday, Aug. 10 deadline, targeting petition signatures collected by Oak Parkers for Free Speech. The group gathered more than 3,500 notarized signatures over 12 weeks, well above the roughly 2,000 required, and submitted them by the village's Aug. 3 deadline.

Kasper, who has represented three U.S. presidents and served as general counsel to the Democratic Party of Illinois for more than 20 years, declined to disclose the basis of his objection. "I have a long-standing pattern of not commenting on my cases," he told the Wednesday Journal.

The specific grounds for the challenge have not been made public.

Who decides

Under the Illinois Election Code, the village's municipal electoral board reviews objections to petition signatures on procedural grounds only. It cannot rule on the substance of the referendum question itself.

Village President Vicki Scaman chairs the board, with Village Clerk Christina Waters as secretary and Trustee Jim Taglia, the longest-tenured board member, as the third panelist. But Scaman is out of state on a personal matter and said Tuesday, Aug. 11 that the village attorney must determine whether she can participate by Zoom. If not, Trustee Chibuike Enyia would likely serve as her replacement, Scaman said.

Taglia said Tuesday he had not yet seen the objection but confirmed his understanding that he would serve on the panel. "The electoral board is focused on the process and whether the process is followed and correct and appropriate," he said. "That's what the focus is, not the subject of the referenda."

Tight deadlines

The electoral board must issue its ruling before the village board's Monday, Aug. 17 deadline to adopt an ordinance placing the question on the ballot. The Cook County clerk's certification deadline is Thursday, Aug. 27, the last day Waters can submit the finalized question for inclusion on the Nov. 3 ballot.

If the board sustains the objection, the question could be removed. Under state law, the electoral board's decision "shall be final subject to judicial review."

What the referendum asks

The advisory question would ask Oak Park voters whether Illinois should repeal its 2015 anti-BDS law, which prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies that boycott Israel. Illinois was the first of 38 states to enact such a restriction. The referendum result would not be binding on the state legislature.

Companion bills to repeal the law stalled in committee in the Illinois General Assembly in 2025, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Community reaction

Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy said in a statement that the objectors are private citizens and registered Oak Park voters with no formal affiliation with the group, but that JCFD supports their decision. The organization said the ballot measure "is divisive and distracts our community from pressing local issues like access to health care and affordable housing."

Co-organizer Jesse Bauer of Oak Parkers for Free Speech said 90 to 95 percent of responses during the 12-week canvassing effort were positive. Caren Van Slyke, a group leader who also canvassed, said some opposition was "pretty vicious and unbecoming to our community," though she characterized it as a small minority.

The electoral board has not yet scheduled its hearing. The next village board meeting is Aug. 17.