Recall power pushed in Buffalo Grove after spat

The Buffalo Grove Village Board Monday will discuss a resolution that gives Buffalo Grove voters the power to recall elected officials.

The draft ordinance appeared this week on the village Web site as part of the online agenda packet.

According to the cover sheet, the ordinance was requested by Trustee Jeffrey Berman and Trustee Steven Trilling.

The move follows the election of Trustee Lisa Stone in April. She has been at odds with most of the board on a number of issues since then, including off-track betting, turning once sedate meetings into hours-long debates marked by heated charges and countercharges.

The recall ordinance's purpose, it states, is "to vest the power in the electorate to recall officials elected by them so that the officials may be directly responsible for their behavior in office to the electorate."

It continues, "The electorate is entitled to expect elected officials to properly discharge their responsibilities. The power of the electorate to recall should serve as an impetus to elected officials to be faithful to the public trust. It also is intended to provide an expeditious and effective means for removing from office any elected official who has failed to sustain such trust."

Stone said Thursday there was "no question" that the ordinance is aimed at her, calling it a "desperate and pathetic" attempt to undermine the will of the voters.

"I have shined a light in areas they don't want to be seen - so they're trying to move me out of the way," Stone said. "I'm the individual in government that's willing to stand up and tell the truth, and that's not real popular on that government board."

According to the proposed ordinance, no specific charges would be required for an official to be subject to recall. The ordinance says "the individual reasons of each elector for signing a recall petition or voting accordingly shall be deemed sufficient cause for a recall."

Elected officials eligible for recall are the village president, village trustees and the village clerk. A majority vote would result in the official's removal from office. That official would also be disqualified from being elected or appointed to any such office within the village for four years after the vote.

The vote is subject to appeal before the circuit court.

The rules for the recall referendum require petitions be circulated and filed within 90 calendar days after a notice of intention to recall is filed with the clerk. The petitions must be signed by 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last preceding municipal election.

If the recall petition is approved by the local electoral board, the village board would adopt an ordinance authorizing that a question be placed on the ballot.

• Staff Writer Diana Wallace contributed to this report.