Committee votes to place noncitizen‑voting proclamation on June agenda

The Kane County Public Service Committee voted on May 22 to put a proclamation opposing noncitizen voting onto the committee’s June agenda and, if approved there, to forward it to the full county board.

Committee member David Young made the motion under other business and a colleague seconded it. During discussion members said proclamations are traditionally celebratory and sometimes used as public statements; one member said they planned to vote against the proclamation if it reached the committee floor.

Clerk roll call was recorded for the motion to place the proclamation on the June committee agenda. The transcript shows recorded responses including "Ummes, yes; Lewis, no; Surges, yes; Tepe, no; Young, yes; Sanchez, yes," after which the chair said, "It passes." The motion was therefore approved to add the proclamation to the Public Service Committee’s June agenda for further consideration.

The proclamation itself was described by proponents as a statement that the county ‘‘disapproves of noncitizens voting’’ and an expression that the county supports only legal voting. Committee members noted the item is a proclamation and not a change in law; no ordinance, code change, or enforcement mechanism was adopted at the meeting.

The committee did not take further formal action on the substance of the proclamation during this meeting; the item will return for committee consideration in June.