Commission approves technical charter edits, strikes removal-for-cause wording and sets effective date

Counsel brought a list of technical corrections and substantive cleanups June 3 after the commission recessed to allow staff to update the draft charter. Commissioners approved several corrections and a small but important substantive edit removing language that could be interpreted to permit removal for cause of elected officials.

Kristen explained the recommended edits in a packet and identified remaining substantive items. One item the commission addressed at the meeting was language in section 2-302.1 that still included the words "elected or" in a forfeiture/removal-for-cause provision. Counsel recommended striking that phrase to reflect the commission's earlier decision not to allow removal for cause of elected officials. The commission voted to strike the words "elected or" from the redlined text; the motion passed on a voice vote.

The commission also clarified the charter's effective date. After discussion, members agreed to set a date certain of Jan. 1, 2026 and to strike the trailing clause that referred to filing after adoption with the secretary of state and county clerk. "So without objection, we'll put a period after 2026 and strike all the language thereafter," the chair said; no commissioner objected.

Counsel reported and the commission approved a bundle of cross-reference fixes and minor edits: correcting an incorrect cross reference to section 5-103.2, removing a duplicated sentence in the Board of Review section, and placing a new procurement-related provision that had been voted for earlier. Commissioners agreed to adopt the remaining non-substantive formatting and capitalization fixes as a slate; they also settled on a consistent style for dates.

Ending: The commission approved the substantive housekeeping edits and a slate of clerical fixes; counsel will fold those corrections into the final charter packet for publication.