Campton Hills curbs clerk's move

Campton Hills officials took steps Tuesday to prevent the village clerk from certifying a controversial referendum question that proposes dissolving the one-year-old town.

The action, approved unanimously, came in the form of a resolution authorizing village attorneys to take "any and all appropriate legal steps" should Village Clerk Carolyn Higgins disobey their advice and certify the petition for referendum.

Village attorney Bill Braithwaite said Higgins attempted unsuccessfully to finalize the question recently for inclusion on the November ballot, despite being advised against it. Higgins, who just took office this month, has since refused to commit to following the legal advice, which could be detrimental to the village, Braithwaite said.

"If she does (certify the petition), we may have to take action before the next board meeting," he said, declining to elaborate on the action. "It's not appropriate."

The petition proposing dissolution was filed last fall by a group of residents who opposed last May's incorporation of the village and sought to undo it by referendum. But the question never appeared on the Feb. 5 ballot because village trustees had previously approved putting three non-binding referendums on the ballot, which is the most allowed in Illinois.

The village now claims the petition is "null and void," as it specifically stated the question was proposed for the "next election," or Feb. 5 at the time, Braithwaite said. He added that there are two other problems with the petition, but he wouldn't elaborate.

Tuesday's board meeting was attended by a small group of incorporation opponents who said they decided to show up after noticing an item on the board agenda mentioning the referendum. At one point after reading the legal resolution aloud, Village President Patsy Smith asked the board if anyone was interested in offering a public explanation before voting. No one spoke up.

Chris Baldwin, one of the original proponents of the referendum, said by phone later that the board is overstepping its bounds, and there's no question the petition is valid.

"They've been using these procedures to intimidate our clerk to no end and obviously they're continuing to try and keep her from carrying out her statutory duties," Baldwin said. "It's not only not right, I believe it's illegal."

For her part, Higgins, an incorporation opponent herself, would only confirm details of the situation as Braithwaite told them. As for whether she intends to certify the petition against village attorneys' wishes, "I'm still investigating," she said.

Higgins also has been barred from some village board executive sessions, officials said, because she is currently involved in a lawsuit to secede her subdivision from the village. She has publicly disputed that decision.