Oak Park voters approved an advisory referendum Tuesday, Nov. 3, calling on Illinois to repeal a state law that restricts pension fund investment in companies boycotting Israel.
The margin was decisive. With all 32 precincts reporting, 14,562 voters backed the measure and 7,716 opposed it, according to the Wednesday Journal. That split: 65.36% yes, 34.64% no. The results are unofficial until certified by Cook County.
The ballot question asked: "Should the state of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott the state of Israel?"
The vote carries no legal force. Advisory referenda signal voter sentiment to elected officials but do not change state law.
Oak Parkers for Free Speech, the group that promoted the referendum, gathered over 3,500 signatures to place the question on the village ballot, the Chicago Tribune reported. Jesse Bauer, a member of the organization, said the measure also passed in other communities where it appeared.
"We're thrilled, not only with what happened here in Oak Park but with the referendums carried in all eight municipalities," Bauer told the Tribune.
Over 100 volunteers were working the polls in Oak Park on election night, Bauer said. Volunteers gathered at Roberts Westside, a live music venue in River Forest, to watch the results.
Caren Van Slyke of Oak Parkers for Free Speech spoke at a post-election party at Bobby's Eastside in Forest Park. She said she planned to reach out to state Sen. Don Harmon's office on Nov. 4, along with other legislators, to encourage them to move pending bills forward.
Harmon, the Illinois Senate president, represents Oak Park. His office's position on the pending legislation is not reflected in available public records as of publication.
Bills in the state Senate and House would amend the Illinois Pension Code to remove the requirement that businesses boycotting Israel be placed on a restricted investment list, according to the Wednesday Journal. Referendum supporters say Oak Park state pensioners have lost millions under the 2015 law, signed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner, that bars pension fund investment in companies that boycott or divest from Israel. No independent figure supporting that claim appears in public records reviewed for this article.
One such bill, SB 2462, was filed Feb. 7, 2025, by Sen. Mike Porfirio and referred to the Senate Assignments Committee, according to Illinois General Assembly records.
Oak Park Neighbors United, which opposed the referendum, conceded the result. Spokesman Mark Segal distributed a statement from the group's steering committee to the Wednesday Journal.
"Oak Park Neighbors United is disappointed by the passage of this divisive advisory boycott referendum," the statement said. The group thanked voters who voted no, its campaign workers, "the Jewish community and our many community allies, including 11 current and former village trustees."
"We are sad that this referendum has been so divisive and painful to many in our community, including Palestinian-Americans, Muslims, Israeli Americans and Jews," the statement continued. Segal said the results revealed "no community consensus," according to the Tribune.
The referendum capped months of public debate. Oak Park Neighbors United formed after a similar non-binding question was voted down 352-134 at the Oak Park Township annual meeting in April, according to an earlier Wednesday Journal report. The November ballot question, driven by community petitions, reached a far larger electorate. More than 22,000 ballots were cast.
Van Slyke said she planned to press legislators to bring the repeal bills to a floor vote. What happens next depends on whether Springfield acts on the signal Oak Park voters sent.
