On Wednesday, July 25 the Cook County Board of Commissioners forced through three (3) resolutions placing advisory referendum questions on the ballot for the November general election. As a result, the Cook County Republican Party is cancelling its Countywide Ballot Initiative: an initiative to put a binding referendum question on the ballot in November making all elections for Countywide office non-partisan.
This is yet another example of a government body putting, “Is the grass green and the sky blue?” questions on the ballot in order to block a referendum question that would threaten the status quo, weaken the Chicago Democrat Machine and give a voice to residents of Suburban Cook County.
While this initiative was put forth by a partisan organization, we firmly believe this initiative would have benefited all Cook County residents by forcing voters to consider candidates based on their merits and not their political affiliation. In short, this was not a partisan initiative – it was a good government initiative.
It is truly a shame that the Cook County Board of Commissioners took a page out of City Hall’s playbook and silenced the voices of hardworking Cook County residents with this move. While we are disappointed by this result, we will continue to push reform-minded initiatives at all levels of government.
Thank you to all who dedicated their time and effort towards this initiative. Your commitment does not go unnoticed.
Sincerely,
Sean M. Morrison
Chairman, Cook County Republican Party
