Voters in Feb. won't be able to unmake village of Campton Hills

There isn't enough room on the Feb. 5 primary ballot for a referendum on whether to dissolve the village of Campton Hills, a judge ruled today.

The decision means residents trying to revert the new municipality back to unincorporated turf might have to wait until at least the next election to put a dissolution question before voters.

In handing down the decision, Judge Michael J. Colwell upheld election code that limit the number of referendum questions on any single ballot to three.

Colwell also pointed out that residents already had a chance to weigh in on the issue in the April election, when voters narrowly agreed to incorporate.

"I think the problem your clients have is they weren't paying attention," Colwell told Richard Skelton, who represents the dissolution proponents.

The judge, however, did agree to remove four Campton Hills officials from an electoral board that Skelton claimed would have been "biased" against the dissolution push.

The board, which included election candidate and appointed Village President Patsy Smith, was scheduled Tuesday to hear objections to hundreds of signatures on petitions to put the dissolution question on the ballot.

Skelton said his clients, who are members of the Stop Campton Hills Public Action Committee, will consider appealing Colwell's decision to keep the question off the ballot because of three non-binding referendum questions that have already been brought forth by the village. The attorney said his clients' question should carry more weight than the village's because it was brought by voters, and the outcome would be binding.

For more on the story, read Tuesday's Daily Herald.