Referendum Question Could Destabilize Rantoul Village Government –

Rantoul, Ill. (ECWd) –

Once again, some resident in Rantoul, Illinois have signed, and Terry Workman filed petition sheets for what we would consider a premature referendum which seeks to thwart the newly formed district village trustee government’s ability to “operate free from the instability, unrest and uncertainty that obviously would attend proceedings looking to its possible termination.” Mason, 15 Ill. App. 2d at 386. 

The referendum question seeks the abandonment of electing village trustees by district and revert to electing them at-large.

This was attempted two years ago and failed in court.

At that time, Terry Workman actually blamed the Edgar County Watchdogs for the village incurring legal expenses fighting the petition objections in court, where the village lost.

In January 2023, the Rantoul electoral board heard objections to the referendum (here), and dismissed the objections leaving the referendum on the ballot. Objectors then appealed to the Champaign County Circuit Court where we were granted Extended Media Coverage to livestream the court hearings.

The Judge overturned the electoral board’s decision and removed the referendum from the ballot, stating Workman, “…injects exactly the sort of instability that the legislature sought to prevent when it imposed the four-year statutory period protecting the newly adopted form of government.” and determining that the referendum was premature by not complying with the language in the Illinois Municipal Code:

” . . . Any municipality that has operated for more than 4 years under the provisions of Section 3.1-25-75 may abandon its method of electing trustees under that Section and elect its trustees under the provisions of Section 3.1-25-5 then applicable to villages, by proceeding under this Section . . . “

We suspect there will be objection(s) filed against these referendum petitions, and that Workman may blame us again for the village incurring legal fees, when all he had to do, in both instances, was wait until the question for referendum was ripe according to law.