Buffalo Grove to again consider recall issue

The Buffalo Grove village board will receive another visit from its old friend controversy on Monday, March 8.

Once again, trustees will be considering the concept of recall.

If you recall, the measure was introduced last year by Trustee Jeffrey Berman, in response, he said, to citizens who were concerned over the discord exhibited within the board.

But Trustee Lisa Stone, who was elected last year, felt that the proposal was aimed at her.

The matter was tabled in December for retooling.

Now, Village President Elliott Hartstein said, recall is slated to appear on the March 8 agenda.

Hartstein said Village Attorney William Raysa has been working on a draft, based on previous input from the board, along with suggestions from Berman, on such issues as a time frame for putting a recall petition on the ballot.

At this point, the November election would be the earliest date for putting a recall question on the ballot, since the board does not wish to hold a special election, to avoid unnecessary costs.

"I have mixed feelings about it," Hartstein said. "I think that the basic concept is sound. If, in fact, those people who are elected are accountable to the voters of a given community, there is a certain amount of sense to it. However, it has to be drafted tight enough, so that it will not be abused. There has to be a reasonable threshold. It shouldn't be too easy for anyone to do this."