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Breaking Ballot
Our Village, Our News
OCTOBER 25, 2012
Niles to plant trees next month By Alex V. Hernandez Staff Reporter
Term-limit referendum may complicate spring elections By Alex V. Hernandez Staff Reporter
Term limitation is a hot topic around election season, and it’s no different in Niles, where village officials are this week contemplating a measure that would halt elected village service at 16 years. The Niles Board of Trustees was to host a public discussion on term limits for elected officials this week, including talks of a proposed referendum on the April 2013 ballot. “They want to put the referendum up for review in April. But at the same time they have to figure out what to do with people who are elected in the interim period,” said Rob Kurfirst, Ph.D., who was previously a chair on the Citizens Subcommittee of the Niles Board of Ethics that drafted the original term limits referendum. It’s an interesting predicament, mostly because the Board had the option to approve a term limit plan before spring voting, thus avoiding the challenge of interim officials. Joseph Makula, a member and chair of the Citizens Subcommittee of the Niles Board of Ethics,drafted a proposition for term limits with plans to have it approved this November. Such a timetable would make long-term candidates
ineligible for re-election before the Spring votes. But now, after village officials rejected Makula’s plan, a vote on term limitations won’t likely take place until the April-June interim, after the general elections. Even if re-elected in March, three candidates, -- Louella Preston, Andrew Przybylo, and Mayor Robert M. Callero – all could face ineligibility by the constraints of term limitation.. The question then becomes “what to do?” “Do we hold special elections to replace them? Do we once again allow the Mayor to replace them without election? Do we allow the Mayor to replace himself or herself? Or do we elevate the losing candidates with the next highest vote totals to replace them,” asked Kurfirst. “The point is, by rejecting the timetable of Makula’s original initiative, the village has opened up a new can of worms.” Makula’s plan, and its timetable, is not without support. Originally presented to the village clerk with more than 1,000 signatures
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it called for a ballot measure to be included in the upcoming November election. The measure would limit service on the Niles Board of Trustees to a maximum of 16 years. But the Niles clerk denied the petition, saying it didn’t meet the Election Code. That decision was supported in Cook County court, when Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon ruled against a lawsuit by Makula to include a term limit referendum question on the Niles ballot next month. Continued pressure from Niles citizenry, however led the village board of trustees to this week’s consideration. “I agree with the citizens regarding a limit of 16 years of total service,” said Niles Trustee Chris Hanusiak, who was also a chair on the Citizens Subcommittee of the Niles Board of Ethics. “I think that everyone’s going to talk about the term limits and that everyone’s going to have ideas on how to they think it should be applied because I think the citizens do want it passed.” ahernandez@buglenewspapers.com
Autumn leaves may be falling, but in Niles, trees are going in along busy roadways. Commuters could be seeing some new salt-tolerant trees on Milwaukee Avenue as early as next month, when Niles completes its roadwork ahead of schedule. Originally planned for planting in Spring 2013, a miscommunication led to the tree nursery readying 80 trees for planting this fall.The 80 trees will be planted in November in the parkway and sidewalk installed along Milwaukee Avenue between Neva and Monroe Streets. To quell concerns over survivability through the winter months, the nursery has issued Niles a two-year warranty on the trees. “We’re happy, but thankfully we’re also protected,” said Niles Assistant Village Manager Steven Vinezeano. Thirty-eight of the trees will be ‘Skyline’ Thornless Honeylocusts while the other forty-two trees will be ‘Aristocrat’ Callery Pears. Both types of trees grow to an average height of fifty feet over a period of a few years. Also, both types of trees have been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought are common. As previously reported, this latest phase of construction See TREES, page 3