Hearing ordered on Indian Trails referendum

Community activist Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove is one step further along in his quest to void the April referendum to maintain funding for the Indian Trails Public Library.

The State Board of Elections on Tuesday determined that a hearing on his complaint was necessary.

Sherman has accused the library of improperly using public funds to electioneer in favor of passing the extension of a tax rate increase that was first approved in 1995. The extension passed by 144 votes on April 5.

The State Board of Elections initially determined April 14 that parts of Sherman’s complaint were filed on justifiable grounds, but didn’t recommend any further action. Remedial actions could have included holding a hearing to investigate further or voiding the referendum. But it was unclear in the court reporter’s notes which complaints the board ruled were on justifiable grounds and which weren’t.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board found all the complaints were filed on justifiable grounds and that there should be a hearing to investigate further. The hearing would function like a court case with the hearing officer recommending what action, if any, the election board should take.

However, the lawyer for the Indian Trails Library Board, Roger Ritzman of Wheaton, said that the decision to go ahead with the hearing has no impact on how the board ultimately will rule.

“It’s one step in the procedural process of the State Board of Elections,” Ritzman said. “The state board made no determination of the merit of the complaints.”

Sherman and four other Buffalo Grove residents also have filed suit in Cook County circuit court, asking a judge to void the referendum results. The fight over the issue is driving up the library district’s legal costs. The library board has budgeted $100,000 for legal fees.

“We would never spend that kind of money in normal circumstances,” said interim Library Director Michael Madden, estimating that the normal amount allotted for legal fees in a year would be between $10,000 and $15,000.

Sherman said he doesn’t want the library to spend its money on legal fees.

“What the Indian Trails Library should do is say, ‘You’re right, Rob,’ and acknowledge that what they did was wrong, they broke the law several times and that they won’t do that again, and agree to void the results of the referendum,” Sherman said.

A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 26.