The question burning a hole in every Normalite’s brain is: Should I start calling the Town of Normal, the Village of Normal?
David Shestokas – who is paid for by the Citizens for a Better Normal – took a win yesterday at the hearing in Town Hall, which ironically has signage everywhere that says “City Hall.”
For @IllinoisStateU students and alumni and citizens of @NormalILL (and anyone with an opinion)
Is Normal, IL a City, Town or a Village?@shestokas @ThinkTankTv_ @SeilsElizabeth @WGEM@TV10News @ILConservUnion @ILFreedomPAC @ILfamilyaction @Cities_929 @CatrinaMPeters1 @WGLTNews— Shestokas 4 IL Attorney General (@Dave4AG) August 31, 2022
Part of Patrick Dullard’s objection didn’t fly with the Normal Electoral Board is made up of; Mayor Chris Koos, Senior Council Member Kevin McCarthy and City Clerk Angie Huonker. Brian Day, Town Attorney was appointed by Koos to serve on the board as attorney and parliamentarian.
“One objection, Dullard said was there wasn’t enough valid signatures and the law says you need to have 5% of registered voters. And these voters had to registered before the close of the most recent election which was June 28. That number turned out to be about 1,500 signatures needed,” said Shestokas.
Citizens for a Better Normal got near 2,200.
Dullard filed an objection without pointing to specific signatures or petition sheets that were faulty in some way. The law says you have to do that.
“Your suppose to have that so when you go to a Records Check you only check the signatures that there were objections to,” said Shestokas. “Dullard attached none of that.”
There was a Records Check that took place and Shestokas called this unnecessary and said there was no legal basis to conduct a Records Check at the McLean County Clerk’s office and Shestokas had originally filed a motion to cancel the scheduled Records Check. The Records Check was filed before Shestokas took on the case.
The Normal Electoral Board ordered a Records Check.
The Town (Village) Clerk Angie Huonker was involved in the Records Check despite being on the Normal Electoral Board.
“You should have an independently appointed hearing officer,” said Shestokas. “Because when you have Huonker participating and making rulings… the appeals of those rulings go to the Electoral Board., of which she is a member. So now you are trying to appeal to her to overrule a decision she personally made.”
Shestokas filed an objection to her participation.
Ultimately, last night that part of the objection was done away with by the Normal Electoral Board.
Now, a bigger fish to fry…the question: Is the Town of Normal actually a village?
Dullard objected to the petitions on the basis of the word “town” and claimed that because Normal is an “incorporated town” they, under statute can not be divided up into district.
Only problem is is that Normal is not an incorporated town based on law and precedent. Cities have to go through an incorporation process. Normal has never done this, so it is not a city. Towns since 1985 have been required to elect a President and certain other officers. Normal has never elected these particular officers and if it is a town it has been operating illegally since 1985. Therefore, no matter what Normal identifies itself as, legally, it is a village.
There’s one incorporated town in Illinois…that is the Town of Cicero.
So that question is headed on over to the McLean County circuit court and Shestoaks said he will file by Friday, he has five days to do so.
Shestokas said the courts will not take fresh evidence or testimony…they will be presented with everything the [Normal Electoral] board was presented with.
“That’s why we worked really hard to put together a complete record of everything that happened,” said Shestokas. “Including the matters with Huonker and the unnecessary Records Check. We put together four-five pages explaining the history ‘town’ versus ‘village’ and the Illinois Supreme Court definitions of those and in the end there are only three possible municipal organizations in the Illinois Municipal Code… you are either a ‘city,’ an ‘incorporated town,’ or a village.”
Shestokas said Normal also conducts all their elections according to ‘village’ standards.
“If it looks like a village, quacks like a village it’s a village…” said Shestokas.
