A citizen petition requires the City of Bloomington Township to consider a potential referendum that calls for stopping military aid to Israel over the war in Gaza.
The township will have a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Government Center to hear public comment and decide whether to put the proposal asking the federal government to end military aid to Israel on the November ballot. A similar measure in Peoria recently failed to gain enough votes.
The meeting in Bloomington is happening because the petition was not submitted in time for the annual meeting of the town, said Township Supervisor Deb Skillrud.
The formal language of the resolution to be considered is: "Shall the United States federal government and subordinate divisions stop giving military funding to Israel, which currently costs taxpayers $3.8 billion a year, given Israel’s global recognition as an apartheid regime with a track record of human rights violations?"
After public comment at Tuesday's meeting, those present will vote whether to put the referendum on the November ballot. To vote, you need only be a registered voter in the City of Bloomington, similar to votes at the annual town meeting, said Skillrud.
The ability to petition for referendum is a feature of township government. Skillrud said a petition requires at least 15 signatures. Caleb Sneeden submitted the petitions, said Skillrud. There were 23 signatures on it.
“The people in the community have the right in statute to be able to petition for whatever it is they have a beef about ... We’re very far removed from the federal government, but this is a place where people have a voice. And they’re using it, which is what townships are all about. They have the ability to create agenda items for us at the township level to speak,” said Skillrud.
Skillrud said the moderator for the meeting will be Dave Stanczak.
The last time a public meeting driven by petition was held was about township support for the Adult Recreation Center in Normal several years ago.
The City of Bloomington Township shares the same governing body as the City of Bloomington, meaning the township's trustees are the same as the city council members.
