Oak Park voters approved an advisory referendum asking Illinois to repeal laws barring state pension investment in companies that boycott Israel. Unofficial results showed the referendum passed 65.36% to 34.64%.

About 20 members of Oak Parkers for Free Speech gathered at Bobby's Eastside in Forest Park on the evening of Nov. 3. The scene did not look like a raucous victory party, the Wednesday Journal reported.

Unofficial results showed 14,562 voters supported the referendum and 7,716 opposed it. Results await certification by Cook County.

The question on the ballot was straightforward: Should Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boycott Israel? The answer carried no binding legal force.

Supporters eye Springfield

Deborah Adelman, a member of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, said the result validated the campaign's effort.

"I think the result really vindicates our position, that this needed to come to the attention of the voters of Oak Park, that it needed to be a community-wide vote, a chance for the community to check in," Adelman said.

Caren Van Slyke, one of the group's leaders, spent her early evening outside Beye Elementary School speaking to voters. She said on Nov. 4 she planned to reach out to state Sen. Don Harmon's office and other legislators to encourage them to move repeal bills forward, according to the Wednesday Journal. No public response from Harmon has been reported.

Bills in the state House and Senate would amend the Illinois Pension Code to remove the requirement that pension funds exclude companies participating in boycotts of Israel. The law was enacted in 2015 under former Gov. Bruce Rauner. Referendum supporters say Oak Park state pensioners have lost millions because of it.

As of August, the House bill had 23 cosponsors and the Senate bill had 14, according to Jewish Currents. Bills need 60 House votes and 30 Senate votes to pass. The legislation had not advanced from committee despite a Democratic supermajority in the legislature.

Opponents point to 35% opposition

Mark Segal, spokesman for Oak Park Neighbors United, did two shifts outside Hatch Elementary School on Nov. 3, where dueling "Vote Yes" and "Vote No" signs blanketed the area.

On Nov. 4, Segal said the margin was not a landslide. He characterized it as a message to legislators that Oak Park lacks consensus on the issue.

"As folks like Sen. Harmon are looking at this, they'll see there is not a consensus in Oak Park," Segal said. "You have a strong percentage in the community that did not favor the change proposed in the referendum."

Oak Park was not alone. Communities in Champaign, Will, McLean and Peoria townships faced similar referendum questions, and the "Yes" vote won in each case, according to the Wednesday Journal.

Lost friendships, a divided community

Rabbi Adir Glick of Temple Har Zion in River Forest said the campaign cut deeper than policy.

"It felt like it was a local chapter of a global movement to destroy the world's only Jewish state, and I felt it personally and acutely," Glick said. "I know people who lost friendships in the last few months, and difficult moments with neighbors and colleagues, but it also galvanized our Jewish community."

Elyse Cutler of Oak Park Neighbors United struck a different note, saying months of face-to-face interaction between the two sides could leave something positive behind.

"People got to know each other. I'm hopeful that people can see each other as people with different perspectives as opposed to people who want to fight with each other," Cutler said.

Nicole Lombardi, who handles social media for Oak Parkers for Free Speech, said the online hostility did not match what she experienced at the polls.

"In person this divisiveness does not exist. We were all talking to each other," Lombardi said. "There's a slight distortion that gets going when you're engaged in social movements only online."