Making County Government Accountable to YOU

Sam Cahnman’s proposal for a county recall referendum for Sangamon County officials has some good framework but it still needs some safeguards.

The proposal before the elections subcommittee next month allows only the Sangamon County Sheriff to be recalled with 2 provisions:
1) The recall petition have valid signatures totaling 10% of the number of votes cast in the prior Sheriff’s election.
2) The recall is to occur at the next election date.

The second is the most troubling. If the recall petitions were validated for the April municipal election date, most people in Sangamon County would not have any idea the recall vote was occurring. The April elections are the lowest turnout elections across the state and depending on which offices are being elected, receive little attention from the media. It is possible under this provision that the Sheriff would be elected in November of 2026 and face a recall in April 2027 if enough volunteers gathered signatures under some auspices of foul play.

I also have concerns about how replacement Sheriff is named. Is this a traditional recall ballot consisting of 2 questions? For example, “Should Sheriff “X” be recalled?” with a Yes or No vote and then a vote for 1 out of multiple candidates? Or is it a “Yes”/”No” vote and the County Board selects the replacement Sheriff or the Sheriff is replaced by the Coroner? There are issues with this as the Coroner is not necessarily qualified under the Safe-T Act to hold the position. The Safe-T Act requires Sheriffs and Deputies to hold a law enforcement training certification issued by the Illinois State Police or other equivalent. The Coroner is allowed to hold the office in interim but cannot hold it permanently unless he obtains that certification.

Lastly, how are candidates for replacement Sheriff permitted to be printed on the ballot? Are only established political parties allowed to just name a candidate or must each candidate gather signatures? Are independent candidates required to gather more signatures than established political party candidates? What is the time frame for them to gather signatures?

Ideally, these questions will be flushed out at the Elections Oversight committee meeting next month. I will fight to make this recall referendum not only applicable to the Sheriff but to all County Wide elected officials. Our officials should act responsibly with the power they are given. It’s your right as a voter to recall us if we do not act accordingly.

Posted on 23 Aug 2024, 11:54 - Category: Campaign Platform