Crest Hill council approves ordinance to place advisory referendum on abolishing civil-service commission

The Crest Hill City Council voted Dec. 15 to place an advisory question on the ballot asking whether to abolish the city’s civil-service commission.

City Attorney Mike Stiff told the council petition signatures for the voter-initiated route fell short and that the 'belt-and-suspenders' method would be to take the petition through the circuit court so a judge could order the county clerk to place the referendum on the ballot. He said the council could instead pass an ordinance asking for the advisory question to appear on the ballot under the city’s general authority, but cautioned that "I can't tell you that this will work or that it will withstand scrutiny." Stiff described that approach as riskier than the petition-and-court method.

Council members debated trade-offs. Alderman Dorel Jefferson urged the ordinance route and cited many communities that had used ordinances without immediate legal challenge. Other members urged taking more time to gather signatures and use the court process to reduce legal risk. Despite those cautions, a motion carried to place the advisory referendum on the ballot; the meeting record lists the action as Ordinance 2044. The clerk recorded a roll-call vote in which at least one alderman (Nate Albert) voted "no"; the motion carried.

The city attorney said staff will get the paperwork filed with the Will County circuit clerk and county election officials as soon as possible. He reiterated the legal caution that the ordinance route differs from the specific statute that prescribes how civil-service abolitions are executed, and said a future legal challenge remains possible.

The council did not adopt changes to hiring practice at the meeting; the vote was limited to placing the advisory question on the ballot.